Another Race for Lacey
At 81, Lacey Putney has just announced that he will run for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates from Virginia’s 19th District, which includes the city of Bedford and much of Bedford and Botetourt counties. Putney, a member of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1950, is already the Commonwealth’s longest-serving legislative representative, having served in the House of Delegates since 1962. Putney is an Independent, and so far no one is stepping up to challenge him. Little wonder. In 2007, he was opposed by Democrat Lewis Medlin and won 73 percent of the vote. That year he was also named chairman of the influential budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, prompting the Roanoke Times to profile him as Boss of the budget.