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any one of them and they’ll say demands of life in the legislature have gotten tougher.
Del. Alan Diamonstein of Newport News, a House member since 1968, concurs. But he also believes, “Virginia has been well served by a part-time legislature and we should fight to keep it that way.”
Del. Diamonstein, who can recall the days legislators had no office space, believes the addition of such facilities “has certainly made life more pleasant. They’ve also increased the efficiency of our operation and made it easier for us to represent constituents.”
With increasing seniority and influence, Del. Diamonstein has had to spend considerably more time away from his private practice of law on legislative business.
“Sometimes I may be in Richmond two or three times a week between sessions,” he said, “but I’ve been able to control my schedule so that I can still continue an active law practice and perform my duties as a representative of the people.”
The operative question, though, according to state Sen. John Chichester of Stafford, is where the point of no return comes.
“If you have someone who’s in the General Assembly or may be interested in serving and that person realizes it’s going to take 40 to 50 percent of their time, then there has to be consideration given to what the impact will be on that person’s livelihood. Not everyone who works for a living can devote that much time to serving the public.”
As a result, Sen. Chichester believes, many well-qualified people may be discouraged from running and even more pressure generated for higher legislative salaries and longer sessions.
“I’m convinced we have some people, too many of them, who would love nothing better than to earn their livings making laws the year around. I hate to think about
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