91st Seat Special Election Set; District to be Without Representation in Session

By WYDaily Staff Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Governor Bob McDonnell has set a date for the special election to replace Delegate Tom Gear, who resigned Dec. 30 from his 91st house district seat.

Voters in the 91st district will decide March 8 who will fill Gear's seat. The last day to file as a candidate for the special election will be Friday, Jan. 21, at 5 p.m.

The March election means the 91st district will be unrepresented for the 46-day General Assembly legislative session, which begins Jan. 12.

Gear's resignation came suddenly, with the nine-year legislator saying his battle with multiple sclerosis and other family members' medical issues made it difficult to serve.

“Tom Gear ably served the people of the 91st House district for nine years and on the Hampton City Council prior to that," Gov. McDonnell said in a statement announcing the special election. "He has been a committed public servant, and his presence will be missed when the General Assembly convenes later this month. I wish him and his family the best."

Three Republicans have so far declared their candidacies: Seaford attorney Chad Green, Hampton City Councilman Chris Stuart and Hampton resident Teresa Vanasse Schmidt, an official elected politics newcomer but the daughter of Alan Vanasse, whose bait and tackle shop in Fox Hill was the center of conservative political chatter for years. Which Republican gets the nod will be decided by either a firehouse primary - when one voting location per locality is open to all registered voters - or a mass meeting that's open only to members of the localities' Republican committees.

No Democrats have stepped forward yet, but some have acknowledged the advantage of running in a special election that will likely have a light turnout.

Whoever wins in March will have to run again in the November election.

The 91st district has eight precincts in Hampton and three apiece in Poquoson and southern York County.