Clerk of the House of Delegates is half procedure, half historian. Like most clerks of the court in localities, they serve a unique role as archivist and historian, parliamentarian and conscience. It is truly one of the neatest possible positions ever created in Virginia government.
Of course, it’s not so cool when it’s done in this context:
“What’s the purpose other than piling on?” says Saslaw. “There’s no question the governor is up to his … in alligators — and he knows it. Let’s just wait and see. All I know is I wouldn’t want to be in his situation.”
Nice edit, Jeff Schapiro.
Paul Nardo is spending hours these days in the attic of the state Capitol. He’s rummaging through the records of the House of Delegates. In those damp-smelling volumes, the clerk is searching for clues on the legislature’s role in the unprecedented: the resignation or removal of a Virginia governor.
. . .
No lawmakers asked Nardo for this research. He’s trying to stay ahead of the curve. Nardo has been studying ancient journals, perusing scholarly commentaries and reviewing how the House handled the closest thing to a gubernatorial impeachment: the impeachment of two judges in the 1940s.
We are indeed in uncharted waters, folks. Still, when you think of the idea of Nardo rummaging through all those minutes and all that history, you almost wonder what really cool secrets might be tucked away in the archives.
History nerd nirvana, folks.
My introduction to the Clerk of the House of Delegates was in 1998, when Speaker Moss and then-Clerk Bruce Jamerson were tied in knots by Delegate Bob Marshall, whom the House Republicans gladly allowed to pile on procedural motion upon procedural motion until Moss lowered his shoulder and ruled Marshall out of order — and proceeded to a vote for speaker in a 50-47 split House of Delegates, while three Republicans were on their way to being certified. It was not a good moment for the House of Delegates… but it sent everyone scurrying for leftover copies of Jefferson’s Manual for Parliamentary Practice, to be sure.
