Norment urges Kaine to remove Salahi from tourism board

[Blue_Tires]

State Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, is pressing Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to boot one of the White House party crashers from the Virginia Tourism Board.

In a letter sent this week to Kaine, Norment asks that the governor request Tareq Salahi's resignation.

"Mr. Salahi's recent outrageous behavior and personal promotion in regards to trespassing in the White House is not the face that we need for Virginia tourism," Norment writes.

An article in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch says Virginia officials who enforce state law on charities' solicitations are investigating the fundraising practices of America's Polo Cup, a charity associated with the Salahis.

The Northern Virginia couple showed up uninvited to President Barack Obama's first state dinner last month.

Kaine in 2006 appointed Tareq Salahi to the Virginia Tourism Board for a six-year term that expires in 2012. Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth Katherine K. Hanley is trying to reach the couple on behalf of the governor.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/NORMGATER04_20091204-103202/309531/