Monday, December 29, 2008
Goode's next calling?
The 5th District representative will have plenty of options when his term ends on Jan. 2
The Roanoke Times | File 2000
Virgil Goode stumps with President George H. W. Bush in Salem.
Wire photo | File 1980
Sen. Virgil Goode (right) has a word with Sen. (later governor) Douglas Wilder.
The Roanoke Times | File 1978
Virgil Goode delivers a speech early in his career.
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From The Roanoke Times
The end of a political era is coming Jan. 2 to Virginia's 5th Congressional District.
That's the day U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Rocky Mount, will step down after 14 years on Capitol Hill and representative-elect Tom Perriello of Albemarle County will take his place.
Goode was an independent then a Democrat in the state Senate, before shifting back to an independent and finally a member of the Republican Party during his time in Congress. Goode has represented his part of Virginia on the state and federal level.
So where does Goode, a man who's made a career of politics, go from here? His answer is short and to the point.
"I am undecided about this," Goode said Monday.
The six-term congressman could find many doors open: putting his University of Virginia law degree to use, lobbying, as do many former legislators, or nothing at all.
He could decide to run for another elective office or take a shot at reclaiming his former seat in Congress two years from now.
Had he been re-elected, Goode had no plans of changing the way he conducted district business.
Bringing jobs back to Southside, securing funding for the district and cutting back government programs -- such as foreign aid -- would have been his focus, he said before the election.
At that time he wouldn't speak publicly about what he'd do if he lost or if he'd ever run again.
"It's up to the voters," he said.
Now that the voters have spoken, Goode's plans seem to be a hot topic around the district.
Longtime supporter and friend Nelson Amos of Penhook said Goode has some plans to travel in the next couple of months, but other than that the possibilities are endless.
"Virgil is 62, so he has that option of slowing down and retiring," Amos said. "But I doubt that. I don't suspect that."
Goode's first task could be to take a vacation, something he hasn't done in about three years, said his campaign manager, Tucker Watkins.
"I know of times he was scheduled to take one and a constituent called needing help and he got back in his car and drove back to help," he said.
"No one will spend the time and effort in being a congressman as Virgil did."
One option for Goode is to practice law, former 5th District Rep. L.F. Payne said.
Payne nominated Goode as the Democratic candidate in the race to replace him in 1996 and is now a consultant with a Washington, D.C., public affairs firm and the chairman of Perriello's transition team.
"He'll have to take some time to decide what he's going to do," Payne said.
Watkins thinks any questions about plans are "premature and unfair."
"It's his right to sit back a few days, or a few months, to think about it," Watkins said.
No matter what he does or where he goes, Goode has created a name for himself on a local and national level.
A conservative, Goode is known for his outspoken anti-immigration, anti-abortion and pro-oil drilling stances.
One trait remembered by friends and constituents alike is Goode's frugality.
But when he did spend money he tried to do it fairly, Amos said.
"If he needed tires for his car, he would buy two tires from one dealer then drive to another to get the others to spread his business around," Amos said, adding that Goode sometimes did the same thing with fuel for his car.
"He believed in looking out for his people."
During his second year as a state senator, he sponsored a bill to cut legislators' salaries by 5 percent.
And in a protest of "extravagant" furniture used in General Assembly offices, Goode furnished his office with a desk and a chair made from a tree stump by Franklin County High School students. The work station now rests in his Rocky Mount office.
Goode has become a political staple in his home of Franklin County, the first representative from there since Edward Saunders, who served from 1906 to 1920.
The youngest person ever elected to the Virginia Senate at age 27 in 1973, Goode has introduced a variety of bills ranging from the lighthearted -- declaring milk as the state's official drink in 1982 -- to the more serious, including the 2003 bill he co-sponsored to implement a moratorium on immigration.
He was one of five Democrats in the House who voted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998.
In 2007 he publicly criticized Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota, for using a copy of the Quran while Ellison, a Muslim, was sworn into office.
While other controversies dot Goode's political path, overall he will be remembered for his work for the district, Payne said.
"He was a very responsive and responsible member of the state Senate and Congress," Payne said.
Another prominent issue for Goode is immigration. He aggressively sought to tighten security, and in 2005 co-sponsored a bill to deny citizenship to children born to parents who are illegal immigrants.
Goode's legacy in the district will include all of the millions of dollars he has funneled to different programs and localities, Amos said.
During his time in Congress, which included time on the House Appropriations Committee, Goode secured 41 earmarks for a total of $22 million, according to Roll Call newspaper's annual power ranking report.
Amos can rattle off a laundry list of funding recipients, including the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum at Ferrum College, Piedmont Community Services in Rocky Mount and Patrick Henry and Danville community colleges.
"His goal is people before politics," Amos said. "If you ask Virgil for help on a federal issue, he said, 'I'll do it.' And he did it."
Amos said he experienced that commitment through Goode's work to stop the Appalachian Power Co. rate increase to areas around Smith Mountain Lake in the 1970s.
Perriello defeated Goode by only 727 votes, and Goode did not give up his seat easily.
The slim margin of votes separating the two and prodding from constituents in the district prompted Goode to request a recount.
He conceded the race Dec. 17 after a three-judge panel ruled Perriello the winner.
While many are excited about Perriello's term, which begins Jan. 6, others continue to mourn the unexpected loss of their longtime representative.
"Virgil is an example of what a congressman ought to be," Watkins said. "He told you how he felt about issues, stayed true to his beliefs and did unbelievable constituent service.
"He was the hardest-working congressman in Washington."
He may not know what the new year will bring, but Goode will spend the next two weeks cleaning up his five congressional offices and packing away 35 years of memories.
