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Ex-Gov. McDonnell plays prank on new Gov. McAuliffe

Posted at 4:15 PM, Jan 13, 2014
and last updated 2014-01-13 16:15:09-05
Black Bear in McAuliffe's office bathroom. (WTVR)

Black Bear in McAuliffe’s office bathroom. (WTVR)

(CNN) — Newly-minted Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, who was sworn in on Saturday, said Monday that his predecessor left him a few presents at the Executive Mansion.

“(Former Gov. Bob) McDonnell left a few items for me,” McAuliffe, a Democrat, said at his first Cabinet meeting. “One was pretty cute; he had an alarm clock hidden in a drawer.”

McAuliffe didn’t say what time the alarm went off, but added he was already awake at the time.

“But the first lady was not up yet,” he said, laughing.

“So I can’t wait to call him today,” McAuliffe continued. “I got to tell him you didn’t beat me, but you got my wife up.”

McAuliffe wasn’t the first Virginia governor to get pranked by his predecessor. McDonnell told WRVA, a radio station in Richmond, in October that when he took office in 2010, former Gov. Tim Kaine had hidden cell phones around the mansion that would ring at different times.

“It was a great little trick, and it had us spooked for a couple of days before we found the cell phones,” McDonnell said.

Going back even further, The Washington Post reported that when Kaine became Governor in 2006, he discovered a cardboard cutout of former Gov. Mark Warner in the shower.

According to WTVR, McDonnell also left a giant stuffed black bear in his office bathroom.

Staffers say they got a good laugh from the prank.