House Republican Caucus
Virginia House of Delegates Republican Caucus
Wilt, Robinson Win Special Elections; Caucus Back to Full Strength
Jun 15th
In today’s special elections, Tony Wilt and Roxann Robinson were elected to fill the two vacancies in the House of Delegates, returning the Caucus to 61 members.
The State Board of Elections has the unofficial returns at its website:
Delegate-elect Wilt will represent the 26th District, which includes the City of Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County. Wilt succeeds former delegate Matt Lohr, who resigned to become Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Delegate-elect Robinson will represent the 27th District, which covers a portion of Chesterfield County. Robinson succeeds former delegate Sam Nixon, who resigned to become Virginia’s Chief Information Officer and head of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA).
Biographical information on the two delegates-elect is available on their respective websites:
Republicans Add Another $35K to $1.1M in Leg Branch Savings
May 21st
Speaker Howell announced another $35K in savings in the House of Delegates budget for Fiscal Year 2010. That’s on top of the $1.1 million already eliminated from the House operating budget during Fiscal Year 2010.
During his tenure as Speaker, Howell has led the way in reducing Virginia’s per capita expenditures in the legislature from 40th in the Nation to 46th. And, with Senate Democrats running up a tab on the other side of the Capital, you can’t expect much better than that.
See the full press release at the Speaker’s website.
GOP Line Up for June 15 Special Elections Set
May 11th
With House District 27 Republicans’ selection of Roxann Robinson as their nominee, the GOP line up for the two June 15 special elections is set.
Robinson, who will run in Chesterfield’s HD 27, joins Tony Wilt, nominee in HD 26, as the Republican ticket for June 15. The special elections were called to fill vacancies caused by the resignation of two valuable members of the Caucus to join the McDonnell Administration—Sam Nixon to become Virginia’s CIO and Matt Lohr to become commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Speaker, Delegates Ware and Oder appointed to Governor’s Reform Commission
May 7th
Today, Governor Bob McDonnell announced the members of his Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring (see press release).
Speaker Howell and Delegates G. Glenn Oder (Newport News) and Lee Ware (Powhatan) will serve on the Commission, chaired by Fred Malek, founder and chairman of Thayer Capital Partners in executing the charge the Governor has set for the Commission, “We must make government simpler and easier to use, more efficient and more effective. That is the work of this Commission. The Commission members will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the state’s agencies, programs, and services to find out how we can make our state government work better for its owners, the people of Virginia. I look forward to working with these reform-minded leaders to examine how Virginia can better serve the taxpayers. Our state and local government employees have made Virginia one of the best managed states in the nation and just like them, I will always seek to make us even better.”
The Speaker has a long history of seeking these kinds of reform solutions, promoting new ideas and market-based reforms to improve the delivery of government services, maximize the return on investment of limited taxpayer dollars, and minimize the costs of government wherever possible.
The Speaker and Delegates Oder and Ware look forward to pursuing the many opportunities for reform in Virginia’s government with the Governor, Commission Chairman Malek, and the other member’s of the Commission.
McDonnell releases $500M in Transportation Bonds Authorized by Speaker’s 07 Bill
Apr 30th
Speaker Howell led the way in passing bond authority in 2007 to enhance Virginia’s transportation infrastructure. Today, Governor McDonnell authorized the sale of $500 million in bonds this May as the first part of a six-year, $2.2 billion program to support projects throughout the Commonwealth.
Check out details in the Governor’s press release.
26th District Republicans Nominate Tony Wilt
Apr 21st
Last night, Tony Wilt won the Republican nomination to from for Delegate in the 26th District Special Election on June 15. Be sure to visit Tony’s Facebook Page to learn more about him and how you can support his campaign.
In six weeks, Tony will be one of two new members of the House Republican Caucus. Republicans in the 27th District (Chesterfield) will nominate their Special Election candidate in the coming weeks.
The 26th District includes the City of Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County. Former Del. Matt Lohr represented the district before resigning to become Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.