Vance Wilkins

American politician

Personal detailsBorn
Shirley Vance Wilkins Jr.

(1936-08-12) August 12, 1936 (age 87)
Amherst, Virginia, U.S.Political partyRepublicanSpouseLeona Elena EhlertAlma materVirginia Tech (BS)OccupationGeneral contractorMilitary serviceAllegiance United StatesBranch/serviceUnited States Air ForceYears of service1958–1960

Shirley Vance Wilkins Jr. (born August 12, 1936) is a retired American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1978 to 2002. In 2000 he became the first-ever Republican Speaker of the Virginia House and first non-Democratic Speaker since the Readjuster Party controlled the House in the early 1880s.

Wilkins was considered the driving force in the expansion of Republican House membership in the 1980s and 1990s, especially after he became minority leader in 1992. In his first term as Speaker, he oversaw the redistricting of the House after the 2000 census that led to an increase in the Republican majority from 52–47 (1 independent) to 64–34 (2 independents) after the November 2001 election.

Voting record

The Republican political record of Vance Wilkins is well-summarized by the Virginia state website: "Vance Wilkins was a strong conservative, working for lower taxes, right-to-work laws, and gun-ownership rights." Wilkins supported the Republican values of limited sex education and limited abortion, in a county - Amherst, Virginia - which had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation during his tenure.[1]

Eavesdropping scandal

In March 2002, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Edmund Matricardi III (R) pled guilty to eavesdropping on a Democratic Party conference call. State Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (R) investigated, which expanded to include Speaker Vance Wilkins and his chief of staff, Claudia D. Tucker, who pled guilty resigned, was fined $1,000 and given a year probation.[2]

Resignation from Virginia House and House Speakership due to multiple sexual harassment accusations

June 7–14, 2002, The Washington Post reported that executives of Wilkins' former construction company had revealed that Wilkins had paid $100,000 to a former political staffer, Jennifer L. Thompson, to keep quiet about "unwelcome sexual advances" by Wilkins. Multiple women came forward subsequently, claiming similar harassment - so the Post says he may have resigned to avoid further public contempt.[3] Under pressure from Kilgore and his own Republican caucus, Wilkins resigned as Speaker a week later, and then resigned from the House shortly afterward.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ "S. Vance Wilkins Jr., Member From: 1978 - 2002". House History. Virginia House of Delegates Clerk's Office. 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  2. ^ Masters, Brooke A.; Shear, Michael D. (May 9, 2002). "U.S. Joins Probe of Phone Snooping; Republicans Investigated for Allegedly Listening to Democrats' Conference Calls". The Washington Post. p. B4.
  3. ^ Melton, R.H. (June 7, 2002). "Va. Speaker Settles Sex Complaint; Wilkins Paid Woman at Least $100,000, Denies Accusations". The Washington Post. p. A1.
  4. ^ Melton, R.H. (June 14, 2002). "Wilkins Resigns As Va. Speaker". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2020.

External links

  • "S. Vance Wilkins Jr., Member From: 1978 - 2002". A History of the Virginia House of Delegates. Virginia General Assembly. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
Virginia House of Delegates
Preceded by
Donald G. Pendleton
 Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 11th district
January 11, 1978–January 12, 1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 24th district
January 12, 1983–June 15, 2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates
November 19, 1991–January 12, 2000 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Tom Moss
 Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
January 12, 2000–June 15, 2002 		Succeeded by