William Troy Bolling (born June 15, 1957) is an American businessman, politician and educator who served as the 39th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
Running as a Republican, he was elected twice to the position by defeating his Democratic opponent in both the 2005 and 2009 general elections. He was the first lieutenant governor in the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve two consecutive terms since Don Beyer. He was succeeded by Democrat Ralph Northam after the 2013 general election.
Early life, education, and early career
Bolling was born on June 15, 1957, in Sistersville, West Virginia. He was raised in the coal fields of southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. His father was a surface coal miner, and his mother was a homemaker. As a 15-year-old, he volunteered to work on the re-election campaign of Republican Governor of West Virginia Arch Moore. He graduated from the University of Charleston (West Virginia) in 1978 with a B.S. degree in Political Science and was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He moved to Mechanicsville, Virginia, in 1981 when he accepted a job with a Virginia insurance company.
Political career
Hanover County Board of Supervisors
Bolling first ran for elected office in 1991 for a position on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. Bolling won that office and served as a member of the Board until 1995. While a member, Bolling also served as the Chairman of the Board of supervisors.
Virginia Senate
In 1995, Bolling was elected to the Senate of Virginia in a highly contested race against twenty year Democratic incumbent Elmo G. Cross, Jr. for the 4th Senate District seat. Bolling defeated Cross by 574 votes out of 50,000 cast. The district then included Caroline, Essex, Hanover, King and Queen, King William, Middlesex, counties, as well as a part of Spotsylvania County. However, this district had been trending Republican for some time at the national level. Proving this, Bolling was unopposed for reelection in 1999 and 2003.
As a member of the General Assembly, Bolling served as Chairman of the Joint Republican Caucus, the Virginia Republican Senatorial Committee, Chairman of the Senate's sub-committee on Health Care, the Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
Elections
In 2005, Bolling ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. In the Republican primary, he defeated Sean Connaughton with 58% of the vote.
In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee and state Senator Leslie Larkin Byrne 50%-49%. He won even though the Republican nominee for governor Jerry Kilgore lost the gubernatorial election.
In 2009, Bolling ran for re-election. He defeated Democratic nominee Jody Wagner with 57% of the vote.
Tenure
Kaine administration
Bolling was inaugurated as lieutenant governor on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg, Virginia, along with the other Executive Branch officers, including Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Attorney General Bob McDonnell. Upon his re-election in 2009, Bolling became the first Virginia lieutenant governor since Don Beyer to be elected to two consecutive terms.
As lieutenant governor, Bolling promoted multiple programs, including his September program focused on encouraging a healthy and active life, his Ending Cervical Cancer in our Lifetime program focused on raising awareness about Cervical Cancer and HPV, and his Helping Virginians Breathe Easier campaign focused on asthma awareness.
Also as lieutenant governor, Bolling put forth a statewide initiative, "100 Ideas for the Future of Virginia". This two-year program focused on reaching out to the public for feedback and ideas through a series of town hall meetings, mailings, and an integrated web site. This program focused on promoting feedback from the people of Virginia to develop a long term strategy for addressing issues like education, transportation, public safety, health care, protecting the environment, reforming government, and more.
McDonnell administration
Bolling was one of newly elected Governor McDonnell's first cabinet members, and was appointed as Chief Jobs Creation Officer; overseeing the state’s economic development programs. Regarding creation of the position, McDonnell stated, "I'm going to turn him into the busiest lieutenant governor in the nation."