John Hansford Chichester (born August 26, 1937) was the

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

. He represented the 28th district in the Senate from 1978 to 2007.

Biography

Chichester first entered the Virginia Senate by winning a special election necessitated by the death of Paul Manns. He was approached to replace retiring Congressman

J. Kenneth Robinson James Kenneth Robinson (May 14, 1916 – April 8, 1990) was a State Senator and U.S. Representative from Virginia. Early life Born in Winchester, Virginia, Robinson attended the city's public schools, including Handley High School. He grad ...

in 1984, but declined. Chichester won the 1985

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nomination for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, but was defeated in the general election by state senator L. Douglas Wilder, who would go on to become the first African-American state governor since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. Chichester returned to the Senate, where he accumulated seniority and was mentored by Democratic state senator Hunter Andrews. In 1995 Andrews was defeated for reelection, and under a powersharing agreement in a body split 20–20, Chichester became co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. When the GOP achieved majority status in 1999, he became the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Serving in that capacity he was criticized by

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

for his positions on

fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variables ...

and has been praised by the business community for his concern over the infrastructure requirements in order for Virginia to compete in a global market. He announced his retirement from the Virginia Senate in March 2007.

External links

Biography on the Virginia Senate website
1937 births Living people Republican Party Virginia state senators Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia {{Virginia-VASenate-stub