Jones fills Hampton Roads power void left after Hamilton's loss...

Del. S. Chris Jones' ascension to the status of budget negotiator is a major coup for Hampton Roads political leaders worried that the downfall of Del. Phil Hamilton might hurt the region's ability to compete for state funding.

Jones, a Suffolk Republican and former city mayor, was officially named a House budget conferee by Speaker William J. Howell on Friday meaning that he will be one of six House lawmakers tasked with coming up with a compromise between the dueling spending plans of the two chambers.

Many Peninsula partisan insiders fretted that Hamilton's election loss last November could seriously harm the region's influence in Richmond. Hamilton had been a lawmaker for decades and had carved out expertise especially in education and mental health. But voters sent him home in favor of Democratic Del. Robin Abbott, after revelations about his $40,000-a-year job at state supported Old Dominion University.  

The conferees wield significant clout in Richmond because they have a huge voice when it comes to where the state spends money. For the next two weeks the negotiators from the House and the Senate will meet in large groups and break off into smaller huddles to try to reconcile the financial and philosophical differences between the two budgets.

This year the state's $4.2 billion budget hole has been the dominant story of the session, because the drastic cuts to state spending could lead to layoffs for teachers, nurses and sheriffs. That means Jones joins the ranks of the conferees right as they are forced to make deep and painful cuts.

With such an enormous fiscal hole in Richmond, it's unlikely that the conferees will be able to snag too many spending plumbs in the two-year spending plan they are hammering together. But the dearth of money puts added pressure along the philosophical fault lines in the General Assembly, which could lead to angry flare ups that put a premium on consensus building and relationships. 

Jones has been a player in Richmond for years, known for a consistent conservative voting record and an ability to work with people from either party and either chamber.

Jones has also displayed an strong independent streak. He bucked the GOP leadership in 2004 to vote for then Gov. Mark. R. Warner's tax increase package - that helped the Democratic governor leave the state with sky high approval ratings.

The anti-tax wing of the Republican Party branded Jones and 16 other Republicans turncoats the "Gang of 17" and threatened to run them all out of Richmond. Jones was punished by House leaders for his vote, but the lawmaker quietly returned to Suffolk and easily won re-election.

Jones' joins Portsmouth Democratic Del. Johnny Joannou as a Hampton Roads House conferee. A pharmacist by trade, Jones' has a reputation as a commonsense legislator, loyal to his party but not dogmatic.

He is going to be an important person to watch over the next two weeks and beyond.  

Comments

[dean]

Speakin' of Phil, I wonder how that Federal grand jury deal working out?

[Andrew Phillips]

So, other than helping Democrat Governor Mark Warner pass the largest tax increase in Virginia history in 2004, what has Delegate Chris Jones ever done as a legislator? I've heard he works hard at protecting the pharmacy dispensing fees paid to pharmacists through his efforts with the state budget and regularly introduces legislation to benefit pharmacists. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.