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David Sherfinski

dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com

David Sherfinski covered politics for The Washington Times.

Articles by David Sherfinski

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell gestures as he announces his legislative agenda during a news conference at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

McDonnell nets record haul for GOP governors

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's Republican Governors Association hauled in a record $44.7 million last year, far outpacing the Democratic Governors Association's $20 million in the latest chapter of Mr. McDonnell's rivalry with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.

January 5, 2012
Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks Dec. 29, 2011, during a campaign stop at the City Hall in Coralville, Iowa. (Associated Press)

Three GOP candidates join Perry lawsuit in Va.

Three Republican presidential contenders — including Rick Santorum, fresh off a strong performance in Iowa — intervened in a lawsuit Wednesday in a eleventh-hour effort to get their names on Virginia's March 6 presidential primary ballot.

January 5, 2012
** FILE ** Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

McDonnell rolls out 2012 energy initiatives

Gov. Bob McDonnell trickled out more pieces of his 2012 agenda on Thursday, laying out a wide array of measures designed to promote and develop Virginia's energy resources.

January 5, 2012
Gov. Bob McDonnell

Virginia GOP party voter oath ‘unenforceable,’ McDonnell says

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling are urging the Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee to rescind a "loyalty oath" that would require voters to sign a statement saying that they intend to support the party's nominee before they are allowed to vote in the March 6 primary.

January 5, 2012
** FILE ** In this Jan. 4, 2012, file photo, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (right) and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (center) announce their legislative agenda in Richmond. (Associated Press)

McDonnell aims to lure biotech jobs to Virginia

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Wednesday he is seeking nearly $37 million in his biennial budget to lure businesses and jobs to the commonwealth, putting much of the focus on life sciences and biotechnology — sectors that are staples of the economy of neighboring Maryland.

January 4, 2012
Delegate Robert G. Marshall (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown).

Marshall eyes U.S. Senate run from Virginia

Delegate Robert G. Marshall is "actively interested" in launching a bid for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate this year, the Prince William Republican said Tuesday.

January 3, 2012
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II has made well known his opposition to the state's stringent ballot-access requirements, but has backpedaled from calling for a retroactive change in the law. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Cuccinelli attests he can defend ballot law he wanted changed

The office of Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II insisted Tuesday that the Virginia attorney general does not have a conflict of interest in a high-profile lawsuit over the state's ballot-access law despite his having openly criticized it.

January 3, 2012
**FILE** Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (Associated Press)

McDonnell’s funds cut for Potomac panel challenged

A Virginia appointee to a multistate commission charged with cleaning and maintaining the Potomac River has released a scathing letter refuting the McDonnell administration's justification for cutting funds to the 71-year-old compact.

January 2, 2012
Democratic Delegate David L. Englin. (Associated Press File)

Eyes turn to Virginia as state weighs voter ID law

Virginia legislators are preparing to take on the thorny subject of voter identification laws during the upcoming General Assembly session amid national controversy that includes the Justice Department's rejection of a state law on the matter for the first time in almost 20 years.

January 2, 2012
** FILE ** Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Cuccinelli backs away from call for fast fix to ballot law

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II backed away Sunday from a call to fix the state's ballot access law in time to change the ballot for the March 6 Republican presidential primary, while reaffirming his support to make a fix for future elections.

January 1, 2012
** FILE ** Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Cuccinelli backs emergency bill to widen Va. GOP primary field

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II is urging the General Assembly to pass emergency legislation to allow more Republican candidates to qualify for the March 6 GOP presidential primary — the latest salvo in a controversy over ballot access that has erupted in the last week.

December 31, 2011
Workman Rajinder Singh caulks concrete joints of the Wiehle Avenue Metrorail Station in Reston, which is the end of the line for Phase 1 construction of the Silver Line extension to Washington Dulles International Airport. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

McDonnell approves $150M for Dulles rail

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has conditionally signed off on a funding agreement for the $2.8 billion Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail project, pledging to kick in $150 million in state funds as long as certain provisions are met.

December 31, 2011
Gov. Bob McDonnell

McDonnell OKs abortion regulations

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Thursday approved new regulations for abortion facilities that proponents argue will protect patient health but critics claim will shut down a majority of the state's abortion providers.

December 29, 2011
GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich (top) said Wednesday that a staffer collecting signatures “committed fraud” in a failed effort to get him on the March 6 primary ballot in Virginia. Meanwhile, rival Rick Perry (above) filed suit Wednesday in federal court in Richmond in his ballot-access bid. (Associated Press)

Perry gets time to have name put on Va. ballot

A noticeably skeptical federal judge has given the presidential campaign of Gov. Rick Perry and the state of Virginia a little more than a week to lay out their arguments in Mr. Perry's lawsuit seeking to get his name onto the state's March 6 primary ballot.

December 29, 2011
GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich (top) said Wednesday that a staffer collecting signatures “committed fraud” in a failed effort to get him on the March 6 primary ballot in Virginia. Meanwhile, rival Rick Perry (above) filed suit Wednesday in federal court in Richmond in his ballot-access bid. (Associated Press)

Perry sues for spot on ballot in Va. after signature shortfall

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that a paid worker turned in fraudulent signatures to try to get him on the ballot in Virginia, while Texas. Gov. Rick Perry stepped up his legal effort to be included in the Old Dominion's March 6 primary.

December 28, 2011
** FILE ** Texas Gov. Rick Perry addresses the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates Forum, hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, in Washington. (Associated Press)

Left off Virginia ballot, Perry files suit

Texas Gov. Rick Perry filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday challenging the state of Virginia's ballot access rules that left him off of the March 6 presidential primary ballot in the state.

December 27, 2011
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (left) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talk during a break in the Republican presidential debate on Dec. 10, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Associated Press)

Va. presidential ballot certification to be challenged

A former Democratic Party of Virginia chairman is teaming up with a conservative group to challenge the certifications of Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul for the March 6 presidential primary ballot after a long weekend of hand wringing over the Republican Party of Virginia's stringent qualification requirements.

December 27, 2011
Backed by the late afternoon sun, the Potomac River rolls over the rocks at Great Falls. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Virginia budget omits funds for Potomac River

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's two-year, $85 billion budget blueprint does not include thousands in dues to a long-standing, multistate compact to clean and maintain the Potomac River, a move drawing fire from critics who say the relatively small outlay provides a substantial return for the commonwealth.

December 26, 2011