Virginia House of Delegates Republican Caucus
Posts tagged Bob McDonnell
Governor Calls June 15 Special Elections
Apr 20th
issued writs ordering special elections on June 15 in House District 26 (Harrisonburg and Rockingham County) and House District 27 (Chesterfield) to fill the vacancies created by the resignation of Delegates Sam Nixon and Matt Lohr.
Nixon resigned to become the Commonwealth's Chief Information Officer, leading the . Lohr resigned to become Commissioner of the .
Nixon to lead VITA as Commonwealth’s new Chief Information Officer
Mar 24th
named (R-Chesterfield) to be the Commonwealth's new Chief Information Officer, leading the , effective April 5.
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." ()
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.” ()
Nixon takes over VITA as implementation of important reform legislation that passed during the 2010 Session of the General Assembly takes effect. (R-Campbell) carried , 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.
Lohr Named Ag Commissioner
Mar 16th
announced his appointment of as the next Commissioner of of the ().
Speaker Howell commented on Lohr's announcement:
Matt Lohr is a talented, hard-working and respected leader on agricultural and farming issues, which makes him an exceptionally fine choice for this important position.
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Lohr was first elected to the House in 2005 and is currently serving his 3rd term representing the 26th district, made up of the and part of .
Lohr has been a life-long leader in Agriculture. He lives with his wife, Andrea, and their children, Caroline Belle and Carson Jacob, on a working farm that's been in Lohr's family for over 100 years. In High School, Matt was president of and then served as vice-president of the . He graduated from in 1995. In addition to working the family farm, Matt has taught agricultural science, served as president of the Broadway–Timberville Ruritan Club, served as president of the Rockingham County Farm Bureau twice, chaired the Rockingham County Planning Commission, and most recently chaired the Rockingham County School Board. Matt and his family are also active members and leaders at Harrisonburg Baptist Church.
In the House of Delegates, Matt serves on the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee, and chaired its Agriculture Subcommittee.
McDonnell Highlights House Republicans in State of the Commonwealth
Jan 18th
highlighted the great policy initiatives led by Republican members of the House in his first State of the Commonwealth Address:
- 's bill will grant an income tax exemption for qualified investments by technology and science startup businesses. .
- Delegate Terry Kilgore will help the Governor create an energy corridor in Southern and Southwest Virginia.
- Delegates and have a bill, , to identify cost savings and establish performance metrics on congestion releif and mobility at .
- 's bills will help protect victims of domestic violence by improving Virginia's protective order process. , .
- will help fight gangs by expanding Gang-Free School Zones into Gang-Free Zones, to better target gang activity wherever it occurs. .
Check out Speaker Howell's comments on the Governor's speech .