-- by Dave Ress in The Daily Press (Hampton Roads), November 16, 2014
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and former Newport News state Del. Phil Hamilton have one thing in common beyond felony convictions: They both sincerely believe that they did nothing wrong.
It's easy to see why. In Virginia, the line between right and wrong -- or, more correctly, between legal and illegal -- is very thin.
This eight-part series explores the many ways that Virginia lawmakers can use to benefit themselves while minding the public interest.
Part 1: A part-time legislature with-full time rewards
It's called The Virginia Way: ordinary citizens sacrificing time and
income to write the laws and allot the money that a limited, genteel
state government uses to serve the public. For centuries, Virginia voters,
distrustful of professional politicians, have sent part-timers to the
Capitol, counting...
Part 2: Some lawmakers turn an $18,000 salary into a $55,000 pension
Earlier this summer, Bob Brink paused for a memory from his first days in
the General Assembly "A few weeks before I was sworn into office in 1998
... I took a walk around the Capitol and I stopped outside the House
chamber. The curtains were open and the lights were on, and for the
first time I...
Part 3: The big money in running -- even unopposed
In the electoral wars, state Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, has had a
pretty smooth ride. Unopposed by a major party oponent for the last eight
elections, the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
swept easily into the General Assembly in his first run, with more than
two-thirds...
Part 4: Working for voters -- and for clients, too?
When Mike Pallone Chevrolet, a four-decade-old car dealership in the
prosperous Northern Virginia suburbs, needed a lawyer to argue its case
for help from the Department of Motor Vehicles back in 2007, it went
looking to the small country town of Front Royal, more than a hour's drive
to the west...
Part 5: From making law to influencing it
In 14 years in the House of Delegates, a square-jawed, red-headed lawyer
from Danville named Whitt Clement became one of the General Assembly
Democrats who quietly made things happen -- filling the key posts at the
head of the Appropriations Committee panels that dealt with the big bucks:
highways...
Part 6: Giving gifts, and gaining influence?
Gifts have taken Virginia legislators far afield in recent years -- to the
Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, to Paris and even to
Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan. The last two were courtesy of Virginia Uranium,
which has been working for seven years to end the state's moratorium on
mining...
Part 7: Networking and career-building in the Capitol
Sometimes, spending time in the lush green of Capitol Square -- or even
leaving it -- isn't such a bad deal for Virginia's part-time legislators.
Especially since it can be such a good place for making connections.
Glenn Oder, who represented much of midtown Newport News in the
House of Delegates...
Part 8: Disclosure rules are lax, and reports are hard to find
When it comes to keeping an eye on ethics, Virginia legislators know who
to rely on: themselves. They say they eke out a living in public service
with a near-poverty-level salary -- but they get tens of thousands of
dollars in allowances they don't have to account for as well as benefits
that only...
The research behind the series
To report The Virginia Way, the Daily Press looked at roughly 200 current
and former elected officials' financial disclosure forms and campaign
finance reports from the past two decades, as well as data from Freedom of
Information Act requests with the clerks of the state Senate and House of
Delegates...