Posted on 07/16/2002 11:01:08 AM PDT by Moose4
Wilkins resigns from House
Chuck Lionberger / WSLS Jul 16, 2002
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Just weeks after resigning as Speaker of the House, Amherst county delegate Vance Wilkins says he'll leave the General Assembly completely.
Delegate Wilkins says he has mailed his resignation letter to the Clerk of the House of Delegates about his decision to retire, effective August 15th.
Wilkins says he selected this date so Governor Mark Warner can set a special election to fill his seat for the remainder of his term.
It would coincide with the November general elections, and Wilkins says it will save taxpayers money.
Wilkins resigned on June 14th following allegations of sexual misconduct, and a settlement for sexual harrassment, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
Wilkins has served in the House of Delegates for more than 25 years.
It's a shame that someone who's done as much for his district--and as much for Virginia in general--as Vance Wilkins has to go out like this. But, he brought it on himself by his own behavior, and he seems to realize that now. It hurts me on a personal level too because he knew my family, was friends with my father, even came to my father's funeral six years ago. He was an immensely popular man in our town.
I'll tell you this though--I don't know how they've redistricted the 24th District since last I lived in the area 9 years ago, but if they haven't changed it much from how it was in the '80s and '90s, Wilkins could still have stood a fair chance of getting re-elected. He owned Amherst County's vote, every year. He had more trouble carrying voters "across the mountain" in Rockbridge County and Lexington, but even there he could run neck-and-neck with whatever college-town liberal the Democrats threw at him. I guess he figured that at 63, after 25 years and 25 elections, he didn't think he could win again, and/or didn't want to put his district through the pain of having a "sexual harasser" as their state Delegate.
BTW, I talked to my mother last week, who lives in Lynchburg (near Wilkins' district) and keeps up with all the local gossip. She didn't know who the woman that won the settlement was--she still has not been identified, I believe--but she wasn't an intern. She was probably an employee at the construction company he still owns and runs part-time just outside Amherst.
The contrasts between Wilkins and x42 are stunning.
Oh, could someone with a Virginia ping list pass this on please? Thanks. }:-)4
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