Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. In Pictures: Tim Kaine Through the Years by Heather Murdock Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine began his political career as a city councilman in Richmond, Virginia, in 1994. He then was voted the city's mayor, was elected lieutenant governor for the state of Virginia in 2002, and assumed the governorship in 2006. Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2012, Kaine was chairman of the Democratic National Committee.