So Long, Old Friend

I was saddened to learn that Delegate Vince Callahan announced that he has decided not to run for re-election.

Vincent F. Callahan, Jr. has been a fixture in Northern Virginia civic and political life for over 40 years.

In 1965, in an era when the Democratic Party was dominant in Virginia, he was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor.

Two years later, he won election to the House of Delegates representing upper Fairfax County in the then multi-member district.

In 1976, following the Watergate-backlash defeat of long-time GOP incumbent Joel Broyhill two years before, Vince ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

He currently represents the 34th House district, which included the City of Falls Church at one time.

A long-time McLean resident, Vince is a retired newsletter publisher and editor. He served in the Marine Corp and is a retired Coast Guard reserve officer.

Active in local civic organizations, he also serves on the boards of a number of educational and philanthropic organizations

One of the things that has given Vince great pride has been his long-time service on the board of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

Last year, as the sponsor of a resolution honoring Winston Churchill, he traveled to England to present a framed copy to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Vince is currently second in seniority in the 100 member House of Delegates and serves as Chair of the Appropriations Committee.

His legislative accomplishments are numerous, but Vince will be remembered as a particular friend to education and disabled persons.

So, after 40 years of distinguished service to the people of Virginia, I join with so many others to thank him for a job well done.

Like Flies

There have been so many announcements of retirements among Virginia legislators lately that it seems like they are dropping like flies.

In addition to Vince Callahan, Delegate Alan Dudley and Senators Russ Potts, John Chichester, and Charles Hawkins will not run for re-election.

It is also rumored that Delegate Jack Reid, a member of the House leadership, will soon announce his retirement.

Interestingly, they are all Republicans and most represent rural or partly-rural districts. So far, no Democrat has made such an announcement.

As all 140 House and Senate seats are up for election this year, the electoral climate is getting more interesting.

What Compromise?

As we head towards the annual Veto Session in Richmond on April 4, next Monday looms large.

That is the deadline for Governor Kaine to submit any vetoes or recommended amendments to approved legislation.

What he will do with the transportation bill is the subject of much speculation, as well as ample “spin.”

House and Senate GOP leaders have been calling it a compromise bill. Really? The record shows that Democrats were excluded.

The only compromising was between Republicans in the Senate and Republicans in the House.

As Delegate Jim Scot pointed out last week in the News-Press, we did not even receive copies of the final bill until about two hours before the vote.

Yet, the bill is so poorly crafted there are at least 100 errors in it and it contains provisions that were not well thought out.

We will see what the Governor does, but major changes are clearly in order before many of us can vote for it.