V IRGINIA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE LaceyLacey Putney,Putney, INSIDE VirginiaVirginia Our Gentleman of Virginia—page 4 The Gentleman from Bedford—page 7 GentlemanGentleman Congressman Frank Wolf —page 12 New to the Senate & House —page 18 Winter 2012 V IRGINIA Our Gentleman from Virginia Q UARTERLY MAGAZINE 4 WINTER 2012 ISSUE Lacey Putney, Our Gentleman of Virginia............... 4 The Gentleman From Bedford Mr. Putney Virginia’s #1 Independent ................. 7 The Honorable Lacey E. Putney ..................... 11 Congressman Frank Wolf The Gentleman Remarks at Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast............ 12 from Bedford Visions of the Capitol 7 The Photography of Wanda Judd .................... 16 New to the Senate & House ........................ 18 How Did They Do It? . .26 EpiPens Enforced in Virginia Schools . .26 Congressman An Interview with Jeffrey A. Brauch Frank Wolf Dean of Regent University Law School ................27 12 Around Capitol Square ........................... 29 Association and Business Directory .................. 30 On The Web www.vccqm.org New to the Volume 18 Number 1 Issue Editor–Brennan Long Senate Editors–Kristen Bailey-Hardy and Shirley Pappalardo and House Publisher–David Bailey • Art Director–John Sours School Distribution–Kristen Bailey-Hardy Advertising–[email protected] • Printer–Clinch Valley Printing Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine 18 (ISSN 1076-4577) is published by: Virginia Capitol Connections • 1001 East Broad Street • Suite 215 Richmond, Virginia 23219 • (804) 643-5554 Copyright 2012,Virginia Capitol Connections, Inc. All rights reserved. The views expressed in the articles of Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine, a non-partisan publication, are not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. VIRGINIA CAPITOL CONNECTIONS, WINTER 2012 3 Lacey Putney Our Gentleman of Virginia By MIKE BELEFSKI Fifteen years ago we called Lacey Putney— The Gentleman from Bedford— Today He’s Our Gentleman of Virginia 1. In our VCC July 1997 interview, you for all the elections in which I participated. Well, he shoved my were the most senior member and the petition, and he said, “Well you can take this, you are not going to only independent. What makes you keep run in the Democrat Primary.” I said, “Let me just hand them right your independent label today? back to you and you can put them wherever you want them. I am Good question. Going back a little going to run and I’ll run as an independent and I have ever since.” bit beyond that. The Democrat Party If the Watergate incident had not come along there were two moved too far to the left especially at the or three other Democrats, I won’t call their names, and several of Federal level and the last time I voted for us were going to join the Republican Party. I’m supporting them a Democrat was Senator Harry Byrd, Sr. financially, anyway. I have been urged to declare myself as a The only election that fall was our U.S. Republican and many of my old friends in Bedford County have Senate and our sixth congressional district. urged me to come back and run as a Democrat. Our Congressman Dick Poff, who was elected on Eisenhower’s The voters do not like candidates who change political parties. coattails. Prior to that, the sixth district, which is now split, was I saw it so graphically when Mills Godwin decided in his second very, very strongly Democrat. A gentleman from Roanoke ran go-round not to run as he did in his first but to run as a Republican. as a democrat. A little bit more liberal than I thought we needed. He ran against Henry Howell. Many, many people in my area, So I called the attorney general and asked if I vote democrat in conservatives, didn’t vote for him because they don’t like somebody all the elections in which I participate am I eligible to run in the that switches party. The Republican philosophy generally, not on primary next year and he said yes. So I voted for Senator Byrd and all issues by any means, is more in line with mine: social issues, I didn’t participate in that congressional. I knew it was going to be fiscal issues and what have you. And I decided, every year I’ve a blowout anyway. As an aside, the guy who ran against Dick Poff, decided to quit for over thirty-some years, and I didn’t want to came down from Roanoke, was a former councilman, I think, and alienate any[one], didn’t want to make any more political enemies. was campaigning on Bridge Street in Bedford with a yellow sport So without any political party organized help or fundraising I have coat, green slacks and funny color shoes and he did about as well as continued to run as an independent. In several of the elections, I I thought he would. have had the endorsement of the Republican Party, but knowing Well, when I go to file for the primary, the chairman said did that I should be quitting, retiring and somebody else would take this you vote for so and so and I said Morton I voted for democrats thing I just did not switch parties. That’s the biggest reason. VIRGINIA CAPITOL CONNECTIONS, WINTER 2012 4 2. How has the Bedford area changed since in the last 15 years? they thought the chief executive should do his thing in a four-year Tremendous changes. We were one county with about 20,000 term and move on. And as former Delegate Vince Callahan used to say population. Since then the redistrictings have put Bedford with the city governors come and go. of Lexington, Rockbridge, city of Buena Vista and Franklin County for Legislators are the reason we have AAA bond ratings and the best several years. Then in 1991, I don’t remember if a piece of Rockbridge state to do business. The bill got out of committee once when Governor or a portion of Botetourt and Bedford County has made up the 19th. I Mark Warner was here and I remember when it passed the first step in have had parts of the city of Lynchburg, Rockbridge County, Lexington, the House, the governor was outside the door. All of the news media Bedford City, and Bedford County. Anyway, and the last one last year folks were there and the Governor was beaming from ear to ear. Next was the addition to my district of the city of Covington and Alleghany day when we reversed it, it was no long news worthy for some reason. County. All new territory to me. I’m not sure that’s a good answer as Governor Warner and I chatted about it very amicably and he said to to why I’ve continued to run as an independent. The voters in the 19th me one day, “Lacey, does it bother you that the other 49 states permit and Franklin in most parts of Virginia, there a few exceptions where gubernatorial succession and Virginia doesn’t?” I said, “Governor, it the party label dominates, but my experience shows me that the voters bothers me that that many, all 49, are out of step”. More and more in my area vote for the candidate and are not members of or active members of the P&E committee who agreed with that view got stronger in either political party and while the party has been a help to some and stronger and they killed it almost every time. candidates certain of the Republican Party has done much better in my When Delegate Bob Purkey came before the committee, we were area than the Democrat Party but the beauty of it for me, I guess I meeting in the Speaker’s Conference Room, I was chairman, we were was fortunate, that so many of my colleagues went to bat for me when standing close to the chairman’s chair, and ticked off all of the cogent the Democrats for years attempted to remove me from my important reasons why Virginia should adopt gubernatorial succession - all of our committees, Appropriations, P & E and on several occasions it was a manufacturing had gone off shore, all of our textile industry had left close vote I am told. America, many, many other things. Near the bottom he cited the increase in unwed mothers in Virginia and I interrupted him and said, “Are you 3. I’d like to address the issues that VCC asked you 15 years ago and suggesting to this group (and the press was all over the place) that the see if you had any changes in your views— increase in unwed mothers in Virginia is directly related to gubernatorial Most Prestigious House Committee succession?” Everybody was laughing and there were a lot of red faces No different, that’s historic. When I came here John Warren but anyway I never saw a thing about that in the press. More and more Cooke, was Speaker of the House. His father was on Robert E. Lee’s the P &E members said no, no dice. A number of legislators who were staff and at Appomattox with him when he surrendered. So he had warm to the idea of doing a six year term instead of a four, for some some connections with history. He was the chairman of P&E. The reason more and more of them became disenamored with it. first meeting of every session was to tell every new member, I guess Most Effective Virginia Governor every member, that it was the most prestigious committee, the only committee that had its roots in the House of Commons. Privileges and Mills Godwin. Clearly. Both terms.