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Virginia politics The current governor of Virginia is Tim non-political chief administrator under the Kaine. The State Capitol building in Richmond council-manager form of government. There are was designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the exceptions, notably Richmond, which has a cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick popularly-elected mayor who serves as chief Henry  in  1785. executive  separate  from  the  city council. In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the Virginia is an alcoholic beverage control legislature was called the House of state. Distilled spirits, plus wine greater Burgesses. Together with the Governor's than 14% alcohol by volume, are available for Council, the House of Burgesses made up the off-premises sale solely in state-owned and General Assembly. The Governor's Council was -operated  retail  outlets. composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council Politics also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were lost control of Virginia politics around chosen by all those who could vote in the 1883, the Democratic Party held a nearly colony. Each county chose two people or unchallenged majority position of state and burgesses to represent it, while the College most federal offices through the middle of of William and Mary and the cities of the 20th century. The Byrd Organization Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each headed by Harry F. Byrd Sr. largely chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make controlled statewide politics. In 1970, laws for the colony and set the direction for Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the its future growth; the Council would then first Republican governor in the 20th century review the laws and either approve or effectively ending the influence of the Byrd disapprove them. The approval of the Organization. Holton was succeeded by two Burgesses, the Council, and the governor was other Republican governors in the 1970s. needed to pass a law. The idea of electing Virginia has voted for Republicans in every burgesses was important and new. It gave presidential election since 1952 except for Virginians a chance to control their own the Democratic landslide in 1964. Virginia's government for the first time. At first, the current streak of voting for Republicans in burgesses were elected by all free men in the ten consecutive presidential elections since colony. Women, indentured servants, and 1968, when Richard Nixon began the Southern Native Americans could not vote. Later the Strategy, is the longest among the former rules for voting changed, making it necessary Confederate States. Virginia was the only for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 such state to vote for Gerald Ford over Jimmy m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in Carter  in  1976. 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Despite Virginia's support of Republican New World. Today, the General Assembly is presidential candidates and reputation as a made up of the Senate and the House of conservative state, Democrats won all three Delegates. gubernatorial elections in the 1980s and maintained large majorities in both houses of Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia the Virginia General Assembly, however many featured a state legislature, several Democrats from rural and suburban districts executive officers, and an independent had conservative stances on various issues. judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of Virginia experienced a political realignment 1901, which lasted longer than any other in the 1990s as conservative Republicans state constitution, the General Assembly George Allen and Jim Gilmore held the continued as the legislature, the Supreme Governorship from 1994 until 2002. Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and Republicans captured both houses of the the eight elected executive officers were the General Assembly and built large majorities. Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney Conservative and moderate Democrats from General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State rural and suburban areas were largely Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, replaced by Republicans. Within the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Republican party, the remnants of the less Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. conservative "mountain-valley" faction of The Constitution of 1901 was amended many Holton, so named because many members were times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before from the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest it was abandoned in favor of more modern Virginia, were supplanted by more government, with fewer elected officials, conservative office holders. Virginia was reformed local governments and a more considered a red state by political analysts streamlined  judiciary. and  most  of  its  residents. Virginia currently functions under the 1971 Recently, Democrats have been gaining votes Constitution of Virginia. It is the in Virginia. The Republican majorities in the Commonwealth's ninth constitution. Under the General Assembly have narrowed, particularly Constitution, the government is composed of in the Senate where Democrats now occupy 17 three branches: legislative, executive, and out of the 40 seats. In 2004, John Kerry won judicial. 45.48% of the vote in Virginia, the highest percentage of any Democrat since Jimmy Virginia is one of only five states that Carter. Kerry won Fairfax County, long a elects its state officials in odd numbered Republican stronghold, and fared much better years (The others are Kentucky, Louisiana, in the rest of Northern Virginia than Al Gore Mississippi, and New Jersey). Virginia holds did in 2000. Though Northern Virginia elections for these offices every 4 years in continues to trend Democratic, most of rural the years following Presidential election Virginia, once a Democratic stronghold, has years. Thus, the last year when Virginia been trending Republican, balancing out the elected a Governor was 2005; the next state's politics and reflecting the national gubernatorial election will occur in 2009, urban-rural split. Portions of Southwest with future gubernatorial elections to take Virginia influenced by unionized coal mines, place  in  2013,  2017,  2021,  etc. the college town of Charlottesville, and southeastern counties in the Black Belt The legislative branch or state legislature Region have remained more likely to vote is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral Democratic. However, as the population has body whose 140 members make all laws of the increased in Northern Virginia, so has the Commonwealth. Members of the Virginia House number of Democratic voters. In 2005 and of Delegates serve two-year terms, while 2006, Tim Kaine and Jim Webb won nearly all members of the Virginia Senate serve jurisdictions within the region, which was four-year terms. The General Assembly also not accomplished by Alexandria resident Mark selects the Commonwealth's Auditor of Public Warner in 2001. Warner performed Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the comparatively strongly in rural areas, General Assembly is codified in the Code of particularly Southwest Virginia, as his Virginia. campaign stressed respect for rural cultural values and strategies for economic The executive branch comprises the Governor development. Some political analysts have of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of predicted that Virginia could become a more Virginia, and the Attorney General of competitive state in future presidential Virginia. All three officers are separately elections as the number of Democrats in the elected to four-year terms in years following north begin to counterbalance the number of Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, Republicans elsewhere. The election of Jim etc) and take office in January of the Webb as one of Virginia's two U.S. Senators following  year. in the Congressional midterm elections of 2006 reinforced this prediction. In that The governor serves as chief executive midterm election, the Virginia Senate race officer of the Commonwealth and as was the last decided and secured the commander-in-chief of its militia. Virginia Democratic Party a majority in the United law forbids any governor from serving States  Senate. consecutive terms (although a governor may serve multiple non-consecutive terms). The Republican John Warner still holds the other lieutenant governor, who is not elected on seat in the U.S. Senate. Republicans also the same ticket as the governor, serves as hold 8 out of 11 seats in the U.S. House of president of the Senate of Virginia and is Representatives, which some attribute to first in the line of succession to the gerrymandering during redistricting after the governor. The attorney general is chief legal 2000 Census. In Northern Virginia, the most advisor to the governor and the General staunchly Democratic areas were placed in the Assembly, chief lawyer of the Commonwealth 8th Congressional District represented by Jim and the head of the Department of Law. The Moran leaving behind traditionally Republican attorney general is second in the line of leaning areas in the 11th Congressional succession to the governor. Whenever there is District represented by Thomas M. Davis and a vacancy in all three executive offices of the 10th Congressional District represented governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney by Frank Wolf. The majority African American general, then the Speaker of the House of the 3rd Congressional District represented by Virginia House of Delegates becomes governor. Robert C. Scott stretches from the Richmond metropolitan area to Hampton Roads and is The Office of the Governor's Secretaries surrounded by Republican controlled helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, districts. Virginia's Lieutenant Governor is comprised of the following individuals, all a Republican. Republican Robert McDonnell appointed  by  the  governor became Attorney General of Virginia by 360 votes following a legally mandated recount of The judicial branch consists of the Supreme ballots for that race in 2005. Most elected Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of official in the state's largest city, Appeals, the General District Courts and the Virginia Beach, which has a population in Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, excess of 450,000, are Republicans. Most composed of the chief justice and six other elected officials, including a majority of judges is the highest court in the the county board of supervisors, in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the state's most populous locality, Fairfax states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate County, with a population in excess of one jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia million,  are  Democrats. Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia re-election under the state constitution, and Supreme Court also serve as the in the November 2005 election to succeed administrative body for the entire Virginia Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Tim court  system. Kaine (Richmond) beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County) and The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities longtime Republican State Senator Russ Potts all have their own governments, usually a (Winchester), who ran as an independent. county board of supervisors or city council Kaine was inaugurated as governor on January which choose a city manager or county 14, 2006. administrator to serve as a professional, 1 A B C 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100