Yesterday, the Virginia political world was surprised, but not shocked, with the news that the Gentleman from Bedford, Delegate Lacey Putney, had decided not to run for re-election.
The Gentleman from Bedford was first elected in 1961 during the Kennedy Administration. That will make 52 years of service in the Virginia General Assembly. Some back of the envelope scratching puts the number of votes Lacey cast at between 90,000 to 100,000. Give or take ten thousand. And those are just the recorded ones.
I have spent a fair bit of time trying to think of some words that accurately fit my experiences of and serving with Lacey without overdoing it. That man deserves accuracy, honesty, and gratitude without the over the top superlatives. It’s just not worthy of a man who dedicated 52 years to serving the Commonwealth and its citizens.
Lacey Putney was, first and foremost, a gentleman and a Virginia gentleman at that. Yes, there’s a difference – thankfully not much of one.
Read the rest at http://www.chrissaxman.com.
