Lacey Putney

Lacey Edward Putney (June 27, 1928 – August 26, 2017)^[1] was an American politician. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from January 1962 until January 2014, making him the longest-serving member in the history of the Virginia General Assembly and one of the longest-serving state legislators in American history. He represented a district centered around his hometown of Bedford for his entire career, and at various times represented parts of neighboring Bedford and Botetourt counties.

Lacey Putney
Official portrait, 1980
Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
Acting June 15, 2002 – January 8, 2003
Preceded by	Vance Wilkins
Succeeded by	Bill Howell
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office January 10, 1962 – January 8, 2014
Preceded by	Charles E. Green Jr.
Succeeded by	Terry Austin
Constituency	Bedford County (1962–1972) 9th district (1972–1983) 19th district (1983–2014)
Personal details
Born	Lacey Edward Putney (1928-06-27)June 27, 1928 Big Island, Virginia, U.S.
Died	August 26, 2017(2017-08-26) (aged 89) Goode, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (until 1968)
Other political affiliations	Independent (1968–2017)
Spouses	Elizabeth Harlow ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 2005)​ Carmela Bills ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	2
Education	Washington and Lee University (BA, LLB)
Occupation	Lawyer politician
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1950–1954
Battles/wars	Korean War

Putney, a lawyer from Bedford, was first elected as a Democrat in 1961. He left that party later in the decade and began running as an independent, although he caucused with the Republicans from 1998.^[2]

Putney announced in March 2013 that he would not run for reelection in 2013.^[3]

Acting Speaker

In June 2002 Republican House Speaker S. Vance Wilkins, Jr. resigned following revelations that he had paid a staffer to keep quiet about "unwanted sexual advances".^[4] Putney, then Chair of the Privileges and Elections committee, served as Acting Speaker until the following session in January 2003, when Republican William J. Howell was elected as Speaker.

Electoral history

Date	Election	Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Virginia House of Delegates, 19th district
Nov 7, 1995[5]	General	L E Putney		15,330	99.90
		Write Ins		16	0.10
Nov 4, 1997[6]	General	Lacey E. Putney		13,195	78.39
		Eric D. Thompson		3,635	21.59
		Write Ins		3	0.02
Nov 2, 1999[7]	General	L E Putney		12,842	80.86
		E D Thompson		3,035	19.11
		Write Ins		4	0.02
Nov 6, 2001[8]	General	L E Putney		13,285	99.95
		Write Ins		7	0.05
Nov 4, 2003[9]	General	L E Putney		11,393	73.42
		A M Lipscomb	Democratic	4,123	26.57
		Write Ins		2	0.01
Nov 8, 2005[10]	General	L E Putney		19,152	99.16
		Write Ins		163	0.84
Nov 6, 2007[11]	General	Lacey E. Putney		11,908	72.56
		Lewis B. Medlin, Jr.	Democratic	4,464	27.20
		Write Ins		39	0.23
Nov 3, 2009[12]	General	Lacey E. Putney		15,297	64.13
		Lewis B. Medlin, Jr.	Democratic	4,922	20.63
		W. H. "Will" Smith II	Constitution	3,602	15.10
		Write Ins		32	0.13
Nov 8, 2011[13]	General	Lacey E. Putney		8,883	41.61
		Jerry R. Johnson	Republican	6,775	31.73
		Lewis B. Medlin, Jr.	Democratic	5,670	26.56
		Write Ins		18	0.18

2007 voting bills

As Chair of the Privileges and Elections Committee,^[14] Putney blocked numerous electoral reform bills, including the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact^[15] and bills to introduce Instant Runoff Voting on a test basis.^[16] He then chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee.^[17]