Governor Wilder Meets With Cabinet

Governor Douglas Wilder spent much of his governorship dealing with a national recession and prided himself on his budget cutting. He is photographed here meeting with his cabinet, and discussing a potential $1.2 billion budget shortfall. Wilder's term was also marked by political controversies that often put him at odds with members of his own party. One of Wilder's most controversial acts was to seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency, which took him out of state for extended periods in 1991. That November, Republicans made big gains in the midterm elections for the General Assembly, and some Democrats blamed Wilder's growing unpopularity for the losses. Shortly after that, he abandoned his presidential quest, but he was politically weakened as a result. In 1993, Republican George Allen won the governor's race in a landslide over Mary Sue Terry. Some Democrats blamed Wilder for being an albatross; he complained that Terry should have done more to embrace his legacy of fiscal management.