Watkins was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 and re-elected twice. He was then elected to the Virginia Senate. He became known for supporting public transit and regional cooperation.[3]
Although he faced no opponent in 2007, and easily defeated Democrat David Meade Bernard in 2011, in November 2014, Watkins announced that he would not run for re-election in 2016. He cited wanting to spend more time with his grandchildren as well as new ethics laws following the conviction of former Governor Bob McDonnell.[4] As legislators work part-time, many have full-time jobs. Watkins owns a nursery, land along Virginia Route 288 coveted by developers (for a shopping mall, among other things) and is Chairman of the Board of Essex Bank. The Richmond Times-Dispatch noted that Watkins was also considered a maverick, more liberal than many in his party.[5] In a hotly contested race to succeed him in the 10th District, Republican Glen Sturtevant defeated Democrat Daniel Gecker.[6]
john, watkins, virginia, politician, born, 1947, john, chewning, watkins, born, march, 1947, virginia, businessman, politician, served, virginia, general, assembly, years, republican, watkins, served, virginia, house, delegates, from, 1982, 1998, when, elected. John Chewning Watkins born March 1 1947 is a Virginia businessman and politician who served in the Virginia General Assembly for 34 years A Republican Watkins served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1982 to 1998 when he was elected to the Senate of Virginia He represented the 10th district situated in part of the city of Richmond and its westerly suburbs including all of Amelia and Powhatan counties and parts of four others 1 John WatkinsMember of the Virginia Senate from the 10th districtIn office January 16 1998 January 13 2016Preceded byJoseph B BenedettiSucceeded byGlen SturtevantMember of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 65th districtIn office January 12 1983 January 13 1998Preceded byNone district created Succeeded byLee WareMember of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 34th districtIn office January 13 1982 January 12 1983Serving with George Jones amp Bob RussellPreceded byRobert B BallSucceeded byVince CallahanPersonal detailsBornJohn Chewning Watkins 1947 03 01 March 1 1947 age 76 Petersburg Virginia U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseKathyChildren3 sonsResidenceMidlothian VirginiaAlma materVirginia Tech BS OccupationNursery ownerMilitary serviceAllegiance United StatesBranch serviceUnited States ArmyYears of service1970 1971 Contents 1 Early and family life 2 Political career 3 References 3 1 Sources 4 External linksEarly and family life editBorn in Petersburg Virginia Watkins graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in horticulture He served in the U S Army 1970 71 He is President of Watkins Nurseries Inc 2 Political career editWatkins was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 and re elected twice He was then elected to the Virginia Senate He became known for supporting public transit and regional cooperation 3 Although he faced no opponent in 2007 and easily defeated Democrat David Meade Bernard in 2011 in November 2014 Watkins announced that he would not run for re election in 2016 He cited wanting to spend more time with his grandchildren as well as new ethics laws following the conviction of former Governor Bob McDonnell 4 As legislators work part time many have full time jobs Watkins owns a nursery land along Virginia Route 288 coveted by developers for a shopping mall among other things and is Chairman of the Board of Essex Bank The Richmond Times Dispatch noted that Watkins was also considered a maverick more liberal than many in his party 5 In a hotly contested race to succeed him in the 10th District Republican Glen Sturtevant defeated Democrat Daniel Gecker 6 References edit Senate of Virginia bio The General Assembly of Virginia 1982 1995 p 184 Bass Scott The Power List Style Weekly State Senator John Watkins announces retirement cites post McDonnell ethics scrutiny CBS6 November 25 2014 Retrieved November 26 2014 Robinson Mark November 2 2015 The Maverick richmondmagazine com Virginia Elections Database Search Elections Virginia Elections Database Sources edit Senator John Watkins Republican District 10 Senate of Virginia Archived from the original on 2009 01 15 Retrieved 2008 11 02 Senator John C Watkins Constituent campaign website Past member lookup John Watkins Virginia House of Delegates External links edit John C Watkins Virginia Public Access Project Retrieved 2008 11 02 Election Results Virginia State Board of Elections Archived from the original on 2010 06 17 Retrieved 2008 11 02 Senator John Watkins R Midlothian Richmond Sunlight nbsp This article about a Virginia state senator is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Watkins Virginia politician born 1947 amp oldid 1128153403, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
