Richard Leland "Dick" Fisher (September 16, 1947 – August 27, 2012) was an American politician and energy executive from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He was a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1990 to 1997, representing the 35th district in Northern Virginia. He was also a member of the town council of Vienna, Virginia, for 4 years. Outside of politics, Fisher worked for

Washington Gas Light Company WGL Holdings, Inc., is a public utility holding company that serves more than 1 million customers in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. A subsidiary of AltaGas, it provides natural gas, electricity, sustainable energy, carbon neutr ...

for about 30 years, and served for several years in the Army Reserve.

Education and career

Fisher was the son of Emily and Martin Fisher. His father co-founded Fisher Brothers, a real estate development firm, with his brothers

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence (given name), Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American arti ...

and Zachary. He earned a bachelor's degree in business management from

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

in 1971. He served for several years in the Army Reserve as an LCM-8 operator, departing with the rank of Specialist 7. From 1971 to 2000, Fisher worked for the

, retiring as vice president of operations. From 2006 to 2008, Fisher worked for the US Department of Education, as Chief of Staff of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Electoral politics

After serving for many years on various planning and safety commissions, Fisher was elected to the Vienna Town Council in 1985. He served until 1989, supporting sidewalk building initiatives, recycling efforts, and a sales tax on meals and lodging. In 1989, Fisher ran for the

in the 35th district. The seat was open, as Democrat Dorothy McDiarmid was retiring. Fisher ran as a Republican, facing Democratic nominee David H. Battaglia, a young lawyer. Fisher prevailed in the general election with 51% of the vote. While in office, Fisher was reportedly most proud of his efforts on behalf of special needs children, including a law mandating equitable class sizes for children with mild mental disabilities. Fisher also passed legislation that helped to regulate and legitimize the massage therapy industry, and touted his support to Northern Virginia rail lines and

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

. Fisher announced his intention to resign from the state house in November 1996, citing conflicts between his full time and part time jobs.

Personal life

Fisher was married to Kristen Fisher. He had three children, Hadley, Winston and Alexandra. Fisher died on August 27, 2012, of a heart attack. He was honored by a Virginia General Assembly Joint Resolution in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Richard L. 1946 births 2012 deaths People from Olney, Maryland People from Vienna, Virginia Military personnel from Fairfax County, Virginia United States Army reservists Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia city council members American energy industry businesspeople United States Department of Education officials 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American military personnel

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

20th-century Virginia politicians