Lacey Putney

American politician

Lacey Putney

Official portrait, 1980

Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
Acting
June 15, 2002 – January 8, 2003
Preceded by| Vance Wilkins
Succeeded by| Bill Howell
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office
January 10, 1962 – January 8, 2014
Preceded by| Charles E. Green Jr.
Succeeded by| Terry Austin
Constituency|

* Bedford County (1962–1972)
* 9th district (1972–1983)
* 19th district (1983–2014)

Personal details
Born|

Lacey Edward Putney

(1928-06-27)June 27, 1928
Big Island, Virginia, U.S.
Died| August 26, 2017(2017-08-26) (aged 89)
Goode, Virginia, U.S.
Political party| Democratic (until 1968)
Other political
affiliations| Independent (1968–2017)
Spouses|

* Elizabeth Harlow

(m. 1951; died 2005)​

* Carmela Bills

(m. 2007)​

Children| 2
Education|

* Washington and Lee University (BA, LLB)

Occupation|

* Lawyer
* politician

Signature|
Military service
Allegiance|  United States
Branch/service| United States Air Force
Years of service| 1950–1954
Battles/wars| Korean War

Lacey Edward Putney (June 27, 1928 – August 26, 2017)[1] was an American politician. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from January 1962 until January 2014, making him the longest-serving member in the history of the Virginia General Assembly and one of the longest-serving state legislators in American history. He represented a district centered around his hometown of Bedford for his entire career, and at various times represented parts of neighboring Bedford and Botetourt counties.

Putney, a lawyer from Bedford, was first elected as a Democrat in 1961. He left that party later in the decade and began running as an independent, although he caucused with the Republicans from 1998.[2]

Putney announced in March 2013 that he would not run for reelection in 2013.[3]

## Acting Speaker

[edit]

In June 2002 Republican House Speaker S. Vance Wilkins, Jr. resigned following revelations that he had paid a staffer to keep quiet about "unwanted sexual advances".[4] Putney, then Chair of the Privileges and Elections committee, served as Acting Speaker until the following session in January 2003, when Republican William J. Howell was elected as Speaker.

## Electoral history

[edit]

Date | Election | Candidate | Party | Votes | %

|
|
|
|
|

Virginia House of Delegates, 19th district
Nov 7, 1995[5] | General  | L E Putney | 15,330 | 99.90
Write Ins  | 16  | 0.10
Nov 4, 1997[6] | General  | Lacey E. Putney | 13,195 | 78.39
Eric D. Thompson  | 3,635  | 21.59
Write Ins  | 3  | 0.02
Nov 2, 1999[7] | General  | L E Putney | 12,842 | 80.86
E D Thompson  | 3,035  | 19.11
Write Ins  | 4  | 0.02
Nov 6, 2001[8] | General  | L E Putney | 13,285 | 99.95
Write Ins  | 7  | 0.05
Nov 4, 2003[9] | General  | L E Putney | 11,393 | 73.42
A M Lipscomb  | Democratic  | 4,123  | 26.57
Write Ins  | 2  | 0.01
Nov 8, 2005[10] | General  | L E Putney | 19,152 | 99.16
Write Ins  | 163  | 0.84
Nov 6, 2007[11] | General  | Lacey E. Putney | 11,908 | 72.56
Lewis B. Medlin, Jr.  | Democratic  | 4,464  | 27.20
Write Ins  | 39  | 0.23
Nov 3, 2009[12] | General  | Lacey E. Putney | 15,297 | 64.13
Lewis B. Medlin, Jr.  | Democratic  | 4,922  | 20.63
W. H. "Will" Smith II  | Constitution | 3,602  | 15.10
Write Ins  | 32  | 0.13
Nov 8, 2011[13] | General  | Lacey E. Putney | 8,883 | 41.61
Jerry R. Johnson  | Republican  | 6,775  | 31.73
Lewis B. Medlin, Jr.  | Democratic  | 5,670  | 26.56
Write Ins  | 18  | 0.18

## 2007 voting bills

[edit]

As Chair of the Privileges and Elections Committee,[14] Putney blocked numerous electoral reform bills, including the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact[15] and bills to introduce Instant Runoff Voting on a test basis.[16] He then chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee.[17]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lacey Putney, longest-serving state legislator in Virginia's history, dies at 89
2. ^ Walker, Julian (2013-03-27). "Va. delegate ending legislative service after 5 decades". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
3. ^ "Lacey Putney, longest-serving Va. lawmaker, to retire". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Associated Press. 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
4. ^ Melton, R.H. (2002-06-07). "Va. Speaker Settles Sex Complaint; Wilkins Paid Woman at Least $100,000, Denies Accusations". The Washington Post. p. A1.
5. ^ "1995 Election Results - HOD". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
6. ^ "1997 Election Results - HOD". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
7. ^ "Election Results - House of Delegates - Nov 1999 Gen Election". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
8. ^ "General Election- November 6, 2001". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
9. ^ "General Election- November 4, 2003". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
10. ^ "General Election- November 8, 2005". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
11. ^ "November 6, 2007 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
12. ^ "November 2009 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
13. ^ "November 2011 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
14. ^ "Committee Chart". Retrieved 14 July 2016.
15. ^ "Legislative Information System". Retrieved 14 July 2016.
16. ^ "Legislative Information System". Retrieved 14 July 2016.
17. ^ Virginia House of Delegates: Appropriations Committee

## External links

[edit]

* "Virginia House of Delegates 2009; Delegate Lacey E. Putney". Virginia House of Delegates. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
* Appearances on C-SPAN
* "Lacey E Putney". Virginia Public Access Project.
* "Delegate Lacey Putney (I-Bedford)". Richmond Sunlight.
* "Election Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2010-06-17.
* "209 Bills Sponsored as of 2011". Open States.

*[m.]: married