A new Warner takes Senate seat

By AMY DOMINELLO
Media General News Service
Published: January 7, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mark R. Warner took the oath of office as Virginia’s U.S. senator Tuesday, saying he hopes to help steer the country through even tougher economic challenges than faced Virginia when he became governor seven years ago.

Warner joins fellow Democrat Jim Webb in representing Virginia in the Senate. It is the first time since 1970 that two Democratic U.S. senators have represented Virginia.

Warner replaced Republican Sen. John Warner (no relation to Mark Warner), who did not seek a sixth term.

John Warner and Webb walked Mark Warner down the aisle of the Senate chamber to be sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney.

“I am anxious and eager to get to work,“ Mark Warner said. “It is time.“

Mark Warner does not yet know on which committees he will serve. He said his key focus will be the economic stimulus package that President-elect Barack Obama is expected to push once he takes office. Warner said he wants the package “done in a way that creates jobs and has a level of transparency.“

He said the financial marketplace needs a new set of rules and that the country needs to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. Warner also said he will steer clear of partisan rhetoric.

“At the end of the day, what Americans want are real results, not partisan back-and-forth,“ he said.

As Mark Warner was welcomed to the Senate, John Warner’s 30 years in the Senate were being honored. At a reception in a packed room of a Senate office building after the swearing-in ceremony, the cheers were just as loud for John Warner as for the new senator.

The two Warners and Webb all stood on stage together and took turns speaking to the crowd of well-wishers.

“I may be succeeding John Warner, but I’m not replacing him,“ Mark Warner said of his predecessor. “He is irreplaceable.“

Mark Warner, 54, challenged John Warner for his Senate seat in 1996. John Warner won, but the two developed a mutual respect that continued when Mark Warner was governor.

John Warner, 81, said he leaves the Senate with “joy and a sense of satisfaction that I’m being succeeded by a man of great strength, with the potential for even greater strength.“ He said the challenges facing the country are some of the most extreme he has seen.

“But Virginia has sent to the Senate a man who understands the free-market system and enterprise,“ John Warner said.

Mark Warner, a millionaire who made a fortune in the cell phone technology business in Northern Virginia before entering politics, campaigned on his record as a centrist governor.

Webb said he’s looking forward to a good working relationship with a new Senator Warner.

“We’ve got a very strong passing of the baton here,“ Webb said.

Amy Dominello is a staff writer for Media General’s Washington Bureau.