Chuck Colgan To Retire

Chuck Colgan has decided to retire. 

Democrats have asked him to hold the announcement until Dick Saslaw can tell Prince William who will be replacing Colgan.

Saslaw has currently been trying to recruit Colgan's grandson, a former Prince William School Board member who currently lives in Colorado to move back and run.

UPDATE:  Candidates are required to live in Virginia for one year before running for the General Assembly.  I'm confused on how Colgan's grandson is qualified to even run.  What is Saslaw doing?

UPDATE #2- There is some interesting Colgan family politics going on here, will explain later today...

Comments

[Geoff]

I think everyone saw this coming. He wanted to retire in '03 but was talked out of it.

[Bwana]

You are kidding about the grandson, right?

[Not Larry Sabato]

Nope. Got this story from a friend of his in Prince William that he called after Saslaw called him.

[NONsense]

So, who becomes Chairman of Senate Finance if the Dems keep the majority?

[Cents]

Barker? I hear he's a number's guy.

[James Young]

Wouldn't surprise me about his grandson. He was fairly well-regarded notwithstanding his relative youth, and obviously political deficiencies, as a member of the School Board. ;-)

[Not Larry Sabato]

lol cents.

[Joe Taylor]

Colgan was the last democrat who could hold that seat. There is no bench for the pwc dems to draw from, all the republican needs to do is avoid doing anything incredibly stupid. I'm thinking that this could cause a resource shift as well as McDonnell and other heavies can send their funds to more competitive races. The goal for democrats now is going to have to be less about preserving their majority and more about stopping a republican supermajority, if the GOP margin is wide enough in the Senate there will be a whole lotta change. Maybe we can finally get somewhere with ABC privitization, education reform, protection of life, and business deregulation.

[NorthArlington]

There goes the Dem majority. We may not even be able to hold on to Whipple's seat.

[blank]

Does Jeanette Rishell live in that district? She'd be an awesome candidate for the Dems. there.

[martinlomasney]

Does Torian live in Colgan's district?

[Ghost of RWR]

Heard that Dave Brickley may get in. Was D in Prince William in the House for a bunch of years, then got hired for DCR (big salary) by Jim Gilmore in his administration and then tried to get back in the House of Delegates in ’03 as a D.

When he left for Gilmore, the House went 50/50. So if he’s in, what party does he pick?

[PJ]

Brickley would be a disaster.

But he's old school, so Saslaw would like him.

[NotJohnSMosby]

The reason Colgan's district was redrawn the way it was this year was in anticipation of his retirement. Take a look at the new boundaries, it became much more Democratic, about 8-10% or so. With a good candidate, it should be held.

[PJ]

Yes, it's more D but McDonnell still got 55%.

Odds are this seat goes R.

[NotMichelleMcQuigg]

The Colgan grandson thing is a smokescreen. It's clearly going to be Brickley. I think the Senate Caucus Director, Steve Pazmino, got his start as Brickley's manager.

[L@@K HERE!]

Most of Colgan's family are Republicans. Now THAT would be interesting!

[JLT]

55% McDonnell means that it's about 4% more Democratic than the state as a whole, not that it's a 55% Republican district.

[Byrne Baby Byrne!!!]

Using McDonnell numbers to tell you about a district make about as much sense as looking at the Warner/Gilmore race.

[Not Paul Blart]

I thought Colgan's grandson was a Republican?

[Geoff]

People using McDonnell numbers as a rationale to go off the deep end need to chill.

[GretchenLaskas]

There's no getting around that it is a tough district for Dems. (I used to live in it.) But it is easier for Dems than it was five years ago, and with the redistricting, it's slightly easier still. A great candidate who really gets out there and gets to know the voters one on one can do it.

[varealest]

Please hold this until Prince William can be notified.

[PJ]

I agree, Gretchen, but the problem is no one has come up with a good Democratic candidate.

Rishell? 2 time loser who not just lost, but lost big.

Brickley? A dinosaur/has been who lost by 10% when he ran against Limgenfelter.

Plus, unless Ds have a serious self funder, the fact is that McDonnell and his guys will outspend any D by a huge margin. That's just a political reality.

By the way, does anyone know if Paul Nichols live in the district? He lost his reelection, but at least it was close in a horrible year.

[Manassasinsider]

Paul does not live in the 29th. But his buddy Jackson Miller does. Miller can win this one, hands down.

[NotJohnSMosby]

I do nominate Colgan as the asshole of the year. He screws Dems on the abortion vote, then after he is redistricted into a fairly safe hold seat, he decides to retire less than a month before the filing deadlines. Great job, fucko.

[Not John Jenkins]

NJSM: Could your comment be anymore over the top or inappropriate? When people remember the historic figures in VA legislative history, they will remember Chuck Colgan for his 36 years in the State Senate and his reputation for honesty, good humor and integrity.

[NotJohnSMosby]

Or maybe some of us will remember him as the guy who helped close most of the women's clinics in the state and then retired, leaving the party in lurch?

[Not John Jenkins]

Yeah, but at least he had the guts to use his real name when he spoke on state issues.

[NotMichelleMcQuigg]

I've heard the PWCDC is having a meeting tonight. Will Brickley show up? Does he know how to get to the meetings? I assume the location has changed in 11 years since he last showed up.

[James Young]

NMMcQ, you're correct: Pazmino did get his start as Brickley's campaign manager. Ran into him once at the County Board of Elections, and he said one of the nicest things anyone ever said to me in politics, about the PWC YRs, of which I was then Chairman.

I don't see Brickley as particularly appealing to today's Democrats. After all, he was primary sponsor of the bar on public employee monopoly bargaining, so union support will be iffy (and may hurt more than help in PWC, in any case). Plus, his departure from the House helped bring about the GOP House majority. Might be some hard feelings there among local Dems.

I also wouldn't cast this district as all that Dem, though I have high regard for Ben's ability with numbers. Neabsco District has consistently elected individuals to the School Board who are closely identified with the GOP (Julie Lucas; Lisa Bell) over the last few cycles. Only Colgan could have held the remainder of the District as a Dem --- both Dave Mabie and Bob Fitzsimmonds came quite close in the last two cycles --- and he always touted his pro-life credentials.

There was always a rumor that Charlie Colgan was a Republican, but I don't know of any facts that support that, and the School Board races are nominally non-partisan. My recollection is that he wasn't objectionable enough to draw first-rate Republican opposition, and the seat has been solidly GOP since then.

[truthteller]

When he ran against Ligamfelter, Brickley did win the PWC half of the district, but lost the seat based on a strong GOP tilt in the Facquier side of the the district. there is significant overlap on the southern side of Colgan's seat with the old Brickley/ Ligamfelter seat so, if Colgan decides not to run (and he's claiming in the press he's undecided), Brickley would likely be the Dem's best bet at a hold here.

This does speak to the urgent need for Dems to develop a PWC bench. For whatever you can say about the School Board meeting in Fairfax or the chaos in Loudoun, Dems at least have cultivated a bench of prospective electeds in both areas. PWC's bench has been deeply lacking and for the Dems to get competitive statewide, that MUST change

[Steve Vaughan]

Brickley is one of the biggest jerks ever to serve in the General Assembly (and that's saying something), so I don't doubt he'll be the candidate.

[Not Paul Blart]

James, Charlie Colgan was a Republican at one point. Can't say what he is now.

[Jim Smith]

NotJohnSMosby - You just wish you were half the man that Chuck Colgan is. He is a Gentleman from Virginia, and voted his conscious - even against the party - to benefit his constituents, and when he felt it was right.

[NotJohnSMosby]

Well, when some of his constituents are driving to Maryland for women's clinic services, I'm hoping they'll think of how much of a "Gentleman" he was.

[James Young]

I'm curious, NJSM: Why can't you just say "abortions"? Or is "women's clinic services" today's preferred Democrat euphemism?

[NotJohnSMosby]

Because abortions are a small part of the patient services there. Most are the standard OB/GYN services.

[James Young]

Well, gee, then, NJSM, they won't be affected at all. But thanks for demonstrating what you REALLY care about.