By GEORGE BOWLES

By GEORGE BOWLES

The 1985 elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general are still eight months in the future, but the early maneuvering for position in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination four years hence is already getting under way.

The earliest maneuverer is Del. Richard M. Bagley of Hampton. Last week Bagley stunned the state’s political community by announcing that he would not seek re-election to the House of Delegates this year. The move is seen as part of his strategy to capture the Governor’s Mansion in 1989.

By declining to run, Bagley gives up one of the most powerful and prestigeous posts in the government of the Commonwealth, the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee. He was first elected to the House in 1966 and has served as Appropriations chairman since 1978.

Bagley makes no secret of his ambitions to be governor and, indeed, for three years he actively sought the Democrats’ gubernatorial nod this year. However, when his polls made it clar that he was trailing both of the other hopefuls, Lt. Gov. Dick Davis and Attorney General Gerald Baliles, he bowed out of the ’85 contest. When he did so, however, he adopted the motto, “First in line for ’89.”

Bagley also found that, powerful though the Appropriations chairmanship might be, it was a poor launching pad for a candidate seeking higher office.

Bagley says his decision to retire from the House was not directly tied to his prospective campaign for the governorship, but to his intermediate goal of running for the chairmanship of the state Democratic party. That office comes up for election at the Democrats’ state convention in June. His governorship bid aside, Bagley says he regards the party chairmanship as a challenging task to which he will devote virtually his full time if he is