The Daily Press has coverage of Delegate Gear's career of public service.

Because the General Assembly is not in session, Governor McDonnell has authority to issue a writ of election for a special election in the 91st District. Vacancies occurring when the House is in session are filled in special elections called by the Speaker of the House.

At present, two seats in the House are vacant. The Caucus looks forward to welcoming Greg Habeeb to the House on January 12 after the Special Election in District 8 to fill the vacancy created by Morgan Griffith's election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Caucus stands ready to assist the Republican nominee in the special election called to fill the vacancy caused by Delegate Gear's resignation. Republicans in the 91st District, including portions of Hampton City and York County and the City of Poquoson. The official call for the nomination will be issued by the 91st Legislative District Committee and, once issued, will appear on the RPV website.

In addition to serving in the House, Del. Villanueva is executive vice president at SEK Solutions, a growing small business headquartered in Virginia Beach. He brings private sector and government experience to the work of the advisory board's work in support of expanding jobs and growing the economy.

Learn more from Virginia Business's coverage and the Governor's press release announcing the commission.

Filling in for Jimmy, guest host Congressman Randy Forbes and the Speaker discussed the lessons Washington can learn from Virginia:

• The no-tax-increase way from a $4.2 Billion deficit to a balanced budget
• How to foster a pro-business, pro-jobs economy

As well as the sure-fire method to stop job creation—create uncertainty for business with the Obama/Congressional Democrat unclear agenda of bloated government, new taxes, and increased regulation.

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 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.

Check out details in the Governor's press release.

Nixon resigned to become the Commonwealth's Chief Information Officer, leading the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). Lohr resigned to become Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

• Del. Sam Nixon's HB 523, which provides capital gains tax relief for investments in science and biotech startups.
• Del. Jim LeMunyon's HB 792, which makes relocating to Virginia easier for businesses by providing temporary licenses to employees in regulated professions who already hold the equivalent license in another state.
• Del. Joe May's HB 677, which established biotech research performance grants to spur development in that field.
• Del. Barbara Comstock's HB 1372, which enhances the Virginia Economic Development Partnerships stature in the business community.
• Del. Lacey Putney's HB 1396, which expands the flexibility of the Governor's Economic Development Opportunity Fund to attract major businesses to Virginia.

The Governor's press release is available at his website.

In making the appointment, McDonnell said, "Sam and I served together for twelve years in the House of Delegates. During that time I came to greatly admire and respect Sam's intellect, character and understanding of the important issues facing the Commonwealth. Sam is a thought leader on information technology issues, both as a legislator and as a Senior Consultant at Richmond–based IT consulting firm CapTech Ventures. Sam's experience in this fast–changing industry will be of tremendous benefit at VITA. I know he will do a great job for the citizens of Virginia." (see Governor's full press release)

Speaker Howell shared the Governor's enthusiasm. “Sam Nixon is the ideal public servant – a recognized and respected leader with vision and integrity, a consensus builder with an uncanny ability to bring people together and harness their many talents, and a problem solver who’s proven time and again that he can fashion practical solutions that deliver real results on technology issues, business concerns and so many other pressing issues that people really care about,” said Speaker Howell. “These attributes make his selection as the Commonwealth’s next Chief Information Officer at the Virginia Information Technology Agency such wonderful and welcome news for all Virginians.” (see Speaker's full press release)

Nixon takes over VITA as implementation of important reform legislation that passed during the 2010 Session of the General Assembly takes effect. Del. Kathy Byron (R-Campbell) carried House Bill 1034, which enhanced accountability by making the CIO accountable to the Governor, through the Secretary of Technology, and making other important improvements in the Commonwealth's IT Governance. Byron chairs the Science and Technology Committee.

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Del. Bill Cleaveland was unable to attend. He carried 5 bills that reached the Governor's Desk.