Politics & Government

Inauguration 2014: McAuliffe Sworn in as Virginia's New Governor

Images and posts from the rainy day as commonwealth leadership changes hands.

By Greg Hambrick

Democrat Terry McAuliffe was inaugurated as the new governor of Virginia at noon Saturday. He replaces Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.

McAuliffe defeated Republican Ken Cuccinelli in November.

Find out what's happening in Burkewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In his speech, McAuliffe pledged to find bipartisan consensus on a number of issues, from diversifying Virginia's economy to adequate funding to higher education.

He also made references to legislation that would allow children of undocumented immigrants equal access to education; that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians; and to allow women to make their own healthcare decisions.

Find out what's happening in Burkewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The impediments to consensus are well known: ideology, personal political ambition, partisanship or score-settling. Identifying the roadblocks is not a challenge," he said, according to a transcript of his speech.

"What is hard is having the humility to admit that each of us has allowed these impediments to influence our decisions. And even more challenging is having the foresight to put them aside for the greater good."

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