The Gentleman from Caroline
Bearing Drift readers may be familiar with my posts on the history that lead up to the draining of our own special “local” swamp in Caroline County, Virginia. Just after the bottom dropped out of the housing market in 2008, our county was literally on the verge of bankruptcy and making payroll on a credit card. Represented for nearly three decades by big spenders on our Board of Supervisors, we watched our tax dollars disappear into a hole of debt, with refinancing schemes repeated over and over again, until the state called a moratorium on borrowing for Caroline. Those were tough times and today we are still making our way out, having finally turned our Board of Supervisors over to conservatives in 2015. We carried Donald J. Trump in 2016, going Republican for only the third time since Reconstruction.
The good news is our county has been greatly blessed over the years by those who represent us in the Virginia General Assembly. Caroline has the good fortune to be in the 4th Senatorial District where we have the very best Senator in Virginia, Ryan T. McDougle. In the House of Delegates we are split three ways and are lucky in that regard as well. Delegates who belong to us are the lovable Delegate Buddy Fowler in the 55th, and in the 99th District we claim the best listener in the Virginia General Assembly, Delegate Margaret Ransone. We have, however, been represented for the longest length of time in the 54th District by veteran legislator, the Honorable Robert D. Orrock Sr.
Years ago, long before I was truly active in politics, Bobby Orrock was a newly minted delegate who defeated a famous, long-time Democrat incumbent. In those days, a local Republican Party in Caroline was nothing but an idea.
Once upon a time, it was Bobby Orrock who nurtured that spark and stood for the first time for conservative thought in a decidedly blue county. Events at his farm were my first experience at the local level in Republican politics. He and his late wife, Betsy, were the kind of people everyone wishes for as the foundation of their local party — real, kind, and gracious. They were everyday, hardworking people with no pretense.
In those days we only dreamed of pulling Caroline out of the swamp but the story of 1990 when Bobby won his seat with impossible odds against a long time favorite Democrat kept us going. He did it the old fashioned way by knocking on doors and talking to people. Even today, little has changed in the way Bobby does business. Oh, he has the web site and the Facebook page, but if you want to know why or how Bobby has taken a stand on something, or the reason behind legislation, just pick up the phone and call. His assistant answers with a friendly southern drawl, or you just may be talking to a Caroline County farm boy on the other end, which happened to me twice last year. Bobby likes picking up his own phone, even during session.
The Delegate’s great love of family is legendary, but his second love was and is Virginia agriculture. He’s retired from teaching now, but is still a familiar face in our community. Bobby is not the guy who comes in for a ceremonial end run to a local event. He’s the man walking in the Relay For Life to celebrate his survival and the victories of others from cancer, right along with the rest of us. If you live in western Caroline, chances are he may have driven you to the hospital as a volunteer; he is still a trustee for the Ladysmith Rescue Squad. He supports our 2nd amendment rights and serves as a hunter safety instructor for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Since he’s not the flashy kind, an attribute which has no meaning in Caroline, he is often sitting right next to you at a dinner honoring local volunteers, and you hardly know he’s there.
How he manages to accomplish things without being divisive (which is disastrous in rural Virginia) is a study in plain communication and the concept that all politics are local. Bobby is liked and respected by citizens and legislators on both sides of the aisle. Without exception, he has the clearest and best understanding of local government of anyone in the GA which is what can make life in a local supervisor’s office so much easier. Bobby is smart and has made his years of experience work for Caroline.
Some of his stands on farm bills in the past were completely misunderstood, because he was protecting citizens from poorly written legislation and its effect on local governance. He held out amid some pretty harsh criticism from those with a lack of understanding and worked long and hard with the stakeholders to create a much better bill. His education in agriculture, and years of experience on the Agriculture Committee in the General Assembly matters. Two years ago, Bobby introduced and successfully passed HB 1852, which recognizes the demand of consumers to purchase food items directly from the farm. The types of farm food products that can be purchased and the locations where these goods can be sold are greatly expanded. This year, even though it was defeated in committee, he voted to create a method for the first time ever to allow on-farm sales of raw milk.
Bobby is chairman of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. He was my go-to legislator when I served on Rappahannock Adult Activities, a Community Services Board, which is a day support program for disabled adults for the city of Fredericksburg and surrounding counties. He also serves on the state’s Disability Board. He has a stockpiled wealth of information in his head about how all these programs work, and a deep and compassionate interest in the folks these programs serve. They could not ask for a better advocate.
With that said, Delegate Orrock and I have certainly had some “discussions” where we did not agree. I can see Bobby smile when he reads this, glasses sitting halfway down his nose in a position familiar to those who know him well. His willingness to have those discussions though, and his accessibility, is what counts. Bobby never forgets where he came from and this translates to good things for my county.
I can count on Delegate Orrock for thoughtful, practical legislation which has meaning and actually has a chance of being discussed in committee, and makes a difference when it is signed into law. This year was no exception, with 14 of his 15 bills passing easily, and with few amendments, were sent on to the Senate side. The only bill which died was his plan to move people from SNAP (food stamps) who should be able to find work in a more timely fashion. My guess is the objections from his colleagues were more procedural in how to grandfather or draw the line on those currently receiving waivers to get benefits longer. It has been left on the table for now.
My favorites are the bills which will cut down on phone calls in a certain local supervisor’s office and are nothing fancy, but no less important than more famous legislation this year. They are commonsense and just make life a bit easier by addressing actual, real everyday issues.
HB1475 – Facilitates (actually requires) people to sign the covenants for the neighborhood or HOA BEFORE or at least AS they purchase a house, perhaps preventing calls like this: “What do you mean I can’t have a six foot sign in my yard or a shooting range?”
HB1477 – Faciliates the purchase of a lifetime license for our dogs and cats ONE time, one fee. This would have saved me several hundred dollars over the years as the owner of four dogs, not to mention the time spent standing in line.
HB2477 – Gets the Health Department and Government out of the drain field and well design business, and lets citizens hire their own contractors, bringing the health department in to inspect at the end of the process. No more health department complaints in this office about design requirements, not to mention the cost savings to the state.
HB1476 – This is a biggy for us in Caroline where my phone rings every year about what information has to be provided of a monetary nature in order to qualify for a tax break on real estate called “Land Use.” The answer is NOTHING; however, the law was so poorly written and has caused endless arguments between Commissioners of the Revenue and citizens, and many calls for relief from Supervisors. With this bill, you simply provide evidence the land is leased to produce and do not have to reveal your personal business.
Here are some other things he worked successfully on this year.
HB1838 – Seeks to levy the playing field with a more balanced approach to tax credits for needy and disabled students in under-performing schools.
HB2304 – Seeks to provide a more efficient and thus cost-effective approach in the long run to those who have oversight for Medicaid in making decisions on pre-screening applicants who need long term care and seeks to ensure that problems are identified and addressed up front. The lack of training and uniformity in these procedures currently leaves the process subjectively open ended. HB2304 closes the loopholes.
HB1538 – Will now require everyone associated with a child care facility to undergo the same background checks and is long overdue. The bill is important and finally requires any adult living in the facility or home to undergo the same check. In other words, anyone who comes into contact with your child at the facility must be vetted. No longer can someone who has not undergone these background checks have contact with a child by “working” under an individual who has.
The number of “Orrock bills” which have already been given to the Governor to sign and had good majority support in both houses may be a record at this point in the 2017 session. None of his bills were shiny in nature or made the headlines, but they were crafted to address real issues which make a difference to plain ole everyday life and identify a real legislator.
I did not get to the General Assembly this year but one of the highlights for our Caroline visit is always the same from year to year, and is an announcement that never gets old for me. This is when the Speaker recognizes the Honorable Robert D. Orrock.
The Gentleman from Caroline.
