Forward Together - Gov. Mark R. Warner, Honorary Chair

Where I Come From

My family knew we'd have to work for everything we'd get in life. But we also knew that the opportunities would be there if we worked hard. This gave us confidence, a faith in the future, and a refusal to play it safe. I was always taught that if somebody gives you a chance, you seize it; and whenever you have the opportunity, be bold. With the help of student loans and part-time jobs, I worked my way through school. I was the first member of my family to graduate from college, earning a degree from George Washington University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1980.

Getting Started

But instead of practicing law, I went into business. I didn't always wind up with the greatest results. I invested my life savings, $6,000, in a little energy start-up company that went broke in six weeks. My next venture, a real estate company, took six months to fail. But I saw that as a big improvement. Still, at the ripe old age of 27, I had two business failures under my belt, student loans coming due, and a lot of the time I was sleeping on my friends' couches.

Then I got into the cellular phone business. My law school friends who worked at big fancy firms said, “Mark, you're crazy! You've failed twice in business. Why don't you go and practice law. Nobody's going to want a telephone in their car.” Well, I helped found Nextel, and was blessed with some business success. Then I went on to become a founding partner of Columbia Capital, a technology venture capital fund in Alexandria, Virginia, that provides start-up money and advice for exciting business ideas. Over the years, we helped start more than 50 businesses that have grown to employ more than 15,000 workers.

Giving Back

As well as things were going I knew my success would not have been possible without all the help I had received along the way – from my supportive family to my outstanding public education to the student loans that got me through college. I wanted to give back. While working with high-tech companies, I saw too many people falling on the wrong side of the digital divide. I started TechRiders, a program that brings free computer training classes to houses of worship across Virginia. I started the Virginia High-Tech Partnership to connect students at Virginia's five Historically Black Colleges and Universities with internships and jobs at leading high-tech companies.

When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and my family went through a frustrating search for support, I realized health care was another area that should be benefiting from the exciting new technologies that were emerging in the 90s. I started SeniorNavigator.com, a program that uses the Internet and volunteers to help older Virginians and their caregivers find answers to medical questions, locate senior health services, and connect with other seniors in their communities. And I was particularly proud to serve as the founding chair of the Virginia Health Care Foundation, which has provided health care to more than 600,000 underserved Virginians in rural and urban areas.

Public Life

So I'm a big supporter of public-private partnerships, but I knew that some very worthy things could be addressed on the public side of that equation. I decided to get more involved with politics. It wasn't the first time. I'd been active in politics out of college, working for the first woman in the nation elected governor, Ella Grasso of Connecticut, and then for Senator Chris Dodd. I had also spent time with the DNC in the early 1980's before embarking on my business career.

In 1989, I helped manage Doug Wilder's campaign, when Virginians chose the first elected African American governor in American history. I served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia. Then I ran for the U.S. Senate… and got the silver medal. The most memorable part of that Senate campaign against John Warner was the bumper stickers one of my supporters printed up. They said, “Mark, not John.” Someone in Southside Virginia pulled up next to us one day and said: “Excuse me, sir, what kind of biblical reference is that?”

In 2001, I ran for governor. The same things I'd been talking about in 1996, in my Senate race, made a little more sense: technological change was defining our economy and the quality of our lives, and public policymakers had better understand the changes needed—everything from the way we educate our kids to tax reform. In a Republican-leaning state, I won as a Democrat. At that time, Virginia hadn't elected a Democratic governor in more than ten years. Not only that: there was not a single, statewide elected official that was a Democrat. Our state House was two-to-one Republican

“Red State” Democrat

But I kind of liked those odds. It was a familiar situation to me: in the business world, there were a lot of times when I was the only Democrat in the room. Anytime someone in the boardroom gave me grief about it, I tried to make them understand one thing: I didn't get where I was because I inherited the title. I got there because I worked hard, went to a good public school, got student loans, and was taught by my family that if you tried hard—even if you failed along the way—this country offered a shot at success.

With that support system in place, I could take a risk, and not be afraid. People talk about “making your own luck,” and maybe there's some truth to that. But it shouldn't be luck that dictates whether you get a good public school education. It shouldn't be luck—or money—that determines whether you get to go to college.

I am a Democrat because I believe that every American deserves a chance to live the American dream. I got that chance. But today, too many Americans don't have that opportunity readily available.

For all the progress we have made as a nation, for all the prosperity we have in our hands, too many Americans haven't been able to tap their full potential. Which means our country hasn't had the opportunity to tap its full potential.

What’s Next

I handed off the leadership of Virginia to Governor Tim Kaine in January 2006. I'm proud of what we've accomplished, and having worked with anyone with a good idea to move Virginia forward. As chairman of the National Governors Association in 2004 and 2005, I was able to work with bright and visionary governors across the nation, working to offer Medicaid reforms to Congress to ensure more Americans are covered by health care, and shared state-federal responsibility does not drain money from public schools – literally pitting grandma and grandpa against the grandkids.

I also led an effort called “Redesigning the American High School” (.pdf) to help grapple with the fact that at the very moment our high school seniors should be taking off fully prepared for college, or entering a skilled worker career slot, far too many were checking out, bored with high school work or marking time until beach week. I think it helped spark an important discussion about where we're headed at a time when workers across the globe are outpacing our students in the skills needed tomorrow.

I think America can do better in many ways. That's the reason for Forward Together. We need to elect Democrats across this country that seek solutions and demand results, who have the ability to see a little farther down the road, and who will talk straight with the people about where we're headed.



Mark Warner ‘at a glance’

  • Birth Date: December 15, 1954
  • Birth Place: Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Undergraduate Degree: George Washington University, 1977
  • Law School Degree: Harvard University, 1980
  • Family: Married to Lisa Collis; three daughters - Madison, Gillian, and Eliza
  • Religion: Presbyterian
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