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could become, to a degree, bearers of the unwanted tax hike baggage. As party chairman, Bagley could put considerable distance between himself and that potentially troublesome problem.
To be sure, there continues to be talk of a movement to draft Bagley for the lieutenant governor nomination this year, and some of the political tea leaf readers profess to see his decision to step down as, in some dark and mysterious way, associated with that movement. There is no evidence that this is the case, although Bagley has not positively slammed the door and locked it on the draft effort.
No discussion of the Bagley move would be complete without mention of the ripple effect it will have on the House 01 Delegates’ committee structure. The next senior member of the Appropriations Committee is Del. L. Cleaves Manning of Portsmouth. If he wins reelection in November, he will become the new chairman.
But no legislator can chair more than one standing committee, and Manning now heads the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. Presumably he would relinquish this chairmanship in order to assume the more prestigious Appropriations post.
But as a strategic gambit impacting on state politics, Bagley’s move may be seen as an astute ploy, as well as a high stakes gamble, by a man of exceptional patience and determination. He has pursued his goal of the governor’s office for three years, and seems singlemindedly and cheerfully prepared to pursue it for four more or, for that matter, as long as may be necessary.
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