Earlier this week, Senator Dick Black decided to retire from the Virginia General Assembly. Senator Black has an impressive military pedigree and I congratulate him for his military and public service and sacrifice. I think that Senator Black made this decision because he can count. He looked at the results in the November 2018 election. There are 11 house seats and 6 senate seats currently occupied by republicans that were won by Senator Tim Kaine. Black realized that 1) he will lose in the general election in November 2019, and 2) he did not want to serve as a member of the minority party in the Virginia General Assembly. Being in the minority is vastly different from being the majority, and making this adjustment is simply not something that Senator Black wants to experience.
Senator Black’s retirement begs the questions: How many senators and delegates will join him? Who will be the next: In the senate Wagner, Sturtevant, or Dunnavant? Who will retire in the house: Bob Thomas, Hugo, Yancey, Ingram, Chris Jones, Chris Stolle, Glen Davis or Robert Bloxom? Maybe Senator Tommy Norment, Senate Majority Leader, may finally decide to retire after many years of rumors to this effect. For him, the adjustment from majority leader, with all the associated perks and accolades, to minority leader will be an even harder adjustment than that of the run of the mill senators.
Herb Jones is a candidate for Virginia’s 3rd Senatorial District. Herb is a retired soldier and combat veteran. Herb is not completely new to politics given that he was elected to serve three terms as the treasurer of New Kent County. Currently, he is an entrepreneur, small business owner, and CEO of IT/project management consulting firm. To learn more about Herb’s campaign, pls visit www.herbjonesforvirginia.com.