Of gas tax hikes, supported and otherwise

One of the original ideas behind the Cheap Seats blog was to have a conversation with our readers, giving them a chance to point out when we get things wrong.

Well, one of our readers is Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's press secretary Gordon Hickey, and he takes exception to the way a story over the weekend characterized Kaine's stand on Virginia's gas tax.

Hickey wrote in over the weekend and asked for a correction to this story, in particular with regard to this sentence:

While [Kaine] hasn't rolled out a specific proposal yet, Kaine has said he'd like to see the gas tax increased along with the sales tax on automobiles.

While Kaine has advocated for a higher sales tax on cars -- increasing the rate from 3 percent to 5 percent --he hasn't taken a position on increasing the 17-cent per gallon gasoline tax, according to Hickey.

In an absolute technical sense, that's true. Kaine has never said directly that he supports raising the gas tax. But Kaine has certainly talked about how low the tax is, how it is inadequate for the state's transportation needs and the need for the legislature to make an "investment" in transportation.

Here's Kaine speaking at town hall in Front Royal in March and on WRVA's "Ask the Governor" program last week.

In light of those comments, I asked Hickey twice whether the governor would sign a bill that came out of June's likely special session that included a gas tax hike. I got no answer either time. Hickey also declined the offer of a story clarifying Kaine's position on the gas tax once and for all.

So in conclusion, Kaine didn't specifically say he supports a gas tax hike, but he certainly aimed his remarks in that direction. As usual, there's a Cheap Seat with Gov. Kaine's name on it if he or his office decide they want to clarify his position on the gas tax.

We'll even buy the popcorn.