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the reign of Blackie Moore is commonplace today is the increased size of the “urban” contingent in the General Assembly and - the “staying power” of urban delegates and senators.
It is significant that members representing the great urban crescent of growth, and development which runs from Arlington through Richmond and the Tidewater constitute a majority in today’s House of Delegates, in the 1960’s the urban areas were still on the verge of their population explosion and legislators from these areas were a minority in Blackie’s carefully controlled House.
Not only were they a minority, they had little real power because of constant turnover, in the decade from 1960 through 1970, for example, Arlington County alone was represented in the House by 10 different people - none of them for the entire period. By contrast, in the decade from 1979 through 1989, only four people represented that county - three of them throughout the decade.
In a legislative system where longevity can equal clout, gaining and maintaining seniority is one of the surest paths to power. Power can be exercised to attain long sought after goals such as reasonable restrictions on firearms ' and more financial autonomy for local governments.
That’s not to say that the virtue of seniority cannot be overrated. Longevity can mean complacency as
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