Jack asks, We provide -- Allen's record of accomplishment

From the State Attorney General:

As governor, George Allen brought high academic standards and accountability to the commonwealth, and Virginia became a national model of educational excellence. He completely reformed Virginia's welfare system and put former welfare recipients on the path to good jobs and economic independence. As a result, the state's welfare rolls are down dramatically.

His historic and innovative reform of Virginia's juvenile-justice laws fixed a broken system. George Allen abolished parole for criminals and instituted truth-in-sentencing. The results speak for themselves: Over the last decade violent crime in Virginia has decreased by 20 percent. And violent crime is at its lowest point since 1978. These statistics are directly attributable to the reforms put in place by George Allen. All Virginians are safer today because of George Allen's leadership.

George Allen left the governor's office in 1998 with Virginia having become a national model in public safety, economic development, educational accountability, and good government. He ushered in greater government efficiency through his Blue Ribbon Strike Force, and reduced the number of state employees to save the commonwealth money. He brought 312,000 new jobs to the commonwealth.

Today, George Allen's extraordinary record as governor needs to be examined anew, for Virginia in 2006 continues to benefit from what Gov. Allen accomplished a decade ago. In fact, Jim Webb endorsed George Allen for Senate in 2000 because of Allen's outstanding record of leadership.

As a United States senator, George Allen has been a champion for the small-business community, which creates the majority of the new jobs in Virginia. He has taken the lead in keeping the Internet tax-free. He has championed an aggressive and proactive war on terror because he understands that the best way to keep America safe is to go after terrorists where they live and operate. He has been stalwart in supporting veterans by championing legislation for better health care and death benefits. And George Allen alone in this race understands the need to train scientists and mathematicians to keep America competitive in the global economy.

I have had the honor to work closely with several governors over the past 15 years. While the governors I have worked with have each achieved their own great successes, no one has been as successful as George Allen. And George Allen is an equally successful individual on a personal level. I know him to be a very decent, down-to-earth, hard-working public servant who loves his family and the commonwealth. He is motivated by the same passion for freedom and liberty that America's founders were.