On July 22 at 7:12 p.m. I tweeted, “If @timkaine is Clinton’s VP pick that makes me feel better about begrudgingly voting for her." An hour later at 8:13 I got my wish. A notification from CNN saying Kaine was indeed tabbed by Hillary Clinton to be her running mate popped up on my phone. I was ecstatic. As a Virginian, I was very familiar with our two moderate democratic Senators and former Governors in Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. They are both esteemed politicians, and in a state where political controversy has been aplenty lately, most notability former Governor Bob McDonald's corruption case (which is currently making its way through the Supreme Court) Kaine and Warner are the shining examples of the best of Virginia politics; beloved democrats in a conservative-leaning state. I also see their face on national TV quite often, confirming to me their strong presence at the national level.

For the past two-plus years, I have called Richmond, Virginia home and I continue to marvel at this historic and flourishing city. However, anyone from Virginia is aware that Richmond was not always the bright and trendy city it is becoming today. Other Richmonders and I may have Tim Kaine to thank for possibility jumpstarting Richmond’s transformation from a city of violence, poverty and segregation.

Kaine along with his wife, both out of Harvard Law School, came to Richmond in the early 1990s to be civil rights lawyers in what was known as one of country's most segregated cities. Kaine and his wife fought for equality as lawyers and gained the trust of minorities within the city. Kaine was elected to city council and then mayor in 1998, making him the first non-African-American mayor since 1977. Thad Williamson, a University of Richmond professor who has recently taken sabbatical to work with the city's’ anti-poverty initiative explains in a column he wrote about Kaine “that It’s no exaggeration to say that Kaine played a key role in helping a historic American city stop its decline and move to a much more positive trajectory.” He did so by focusing on unifying city politics where had stood racial collations for centuries, and by challenging racial discrimination in housing, as well as improving the disparaged public school system.

Kaine the Politician

Kaine was elected Governor of Virginia in 2005 and as Williamson writes “he was routinely described as the most progressive governor in Virginia’s history.” As a governor, Virginia swept Forbes “Best States for Business” ranking #1 from 2006-2009. He steered Virginia through the financial crisis of 2008 mitigating damage and retaining the “Best for Business” status with unemployment well below the national average. He was quick to action during the mass shooting at Virginia Tech signing an executive order restricting gun access to people with mental illnesses while increasing spending on mental health research and rehabilitation. Kaine has plenty of experience with such tragedies that we have come all too familiar with Americans as well as experience with running against the gun lobby in the state of the NRA’s headquarters. In the senate he serves on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees as well as the Budget committee. A former student of Kaine's I spoke to Michael Blodgett (University of Richmond 14') said he expects Kaine to "focus heavily on national security, restabilizing the Middle East and reducing the national budget deficit."

Many view Clinton’s selection of Kaine a boring or safe pick. However, I view him as a perfect foil to Donald Trump. First of all, he is a southerner, where Trump maintains a stronghold. Where Trump talks of building walls and deporting Mexicans, Kaine speaks fluent Spanish. Where Trump blasts “black lives matter,” Kaine attends a black church.

Kaine has as much experience in dealing with domestic violence as any politician, transforming a once extremely violent city, and actually making change after a mass shooting. The Federal Budget that makes headlines every year when it never gets passed? Kaine has experience in dealing with congress’s gridlock when it comes to the budget. In Virginia, he cut taxes by $4.64 billion over his four years. In relation to foreign terrorism, Kaine’s son is a currently deployed Marine (the pin you may see Kaine wearing is a lapel pin in support) and Kaine’s tenure on the Armed Services and Foreign Relation Committees gives him expereance with international affairs. On the committee, Kaine pushed for Congressional authorization of military force for the American operations against ISIL. As a future military member myself, I trust Kaine with my life infinitely more than Donald Trump knowing his strong personal support for the military. The New York Times reported that former President Bill Clinton, privately backed Kaine as his wife's vice-presidential selection, specifically due to his domestic and national security résumé.

Tim Kaine the Person

In his address to the Democratic national committee Tim Kaine stated that his life philosophy is simple: “Do all the good you can do and serve others.” When people refer to politicians as “public servants” I sometimes cringe a bit. A lot of times it doesn't seem to me like politicians are out to serve me or my fellow citizens, more so they are out to gain power and get reelected. When it comes to Tim Kaine I see a public servant. He had to be persuaded to run for Senator in 2012 by his peers who saw him as the strongest candidate. And at a speech at the University of Richmond, where he teaches, in 2010 he claimed "I just kind of have a feeling I will never see my name on a bumper sticker again.” His former Student Michael Blodgett wrote to me that he was surprised to see Kaine get the nomination because he "got the impression that his passion is on working with small communities on a very personal basis, whether in Honduras (where he did mission work and picked up Spanish) or western VA". Kaine started from the very bottom of politics in a troubled city and by continuing to do the “all the good” he could his desire to truly serve has brought him to the presidential ticket.

Tim Kaine teaches law at the University of Richmond School of Law and as well as courses in the Jepson School of Leadership studies (where I study). Dean of the Jepson School, Sandra Peart described to me his desire to study "disruptive change" with his students and explore what circumstances could bring upon such change. Although I will most likely not have the opportunity to take his class when he has an office in Washington, I had the chance to interview over email a few of his former students including Danielle Schweizer who graduated in 2015. She claims that she was inspired by Kaine to follow his path and to apply to law school to become a civil rights lawyer. I asked her to describe something memorable about her expereance and she described her first day in class:

“I was one of only two juniors in the class-- the rest were seniors-- and we both sat in the back of the classroom…When Senator Kaine walked in he took a chair from the front and moved it to the back, sitting down right next to me at the table (a large conference style table). And that's how he taught the entire year, sitting in the back of the classroom the same as all of the students.”

Tim Kaine comes across as a very personable, likable and even goofy figure. Social media as portrayed him as “the kindly dad down the street.” #TimKaineDadJokes went viral on twitter the night of his speech at the Democratic National Convention. For your pleasure:

All jokes aside. Tim Kaine is who you want in a politician even if he has the mannerisms of a really white suburban dad. Trevor Noah on the Daily Show described him as "a real life version of black people's impersonation of white people. He makes Mike Pence (Trump's VP) look like DMX." I'll admit, I heard that live and laughed for a minute straight. Okay, actually all jokes aside. I have never been a big fan of Hillary Clinton, but I will give her the benefit of the doubt, she hit the nail on the head with Tim Kaine. I am certainly with him, and that is enough for me to be with her. And by the way, Tim Kaine has never lost an election.