Gary West

by: Vivian Paige

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 8:55 am

At last Saturday’s Unity Rally, DPVA Chairman Dickie Cranwell mentioned that Democrats have candidates running in 72 of the 100 House of Delegates seats up for election this fall. One of those candidates is Gary West, a first time candidate for office in Newport News’ 94th House district. He is challenging Republican incumbent Glenn Oder. I had the pleasure of spending some time with him a few weeks ago.

West, 55, is a native of Virginia, having been born in Dry Fork, near Danville. He graduated from Bridgewater College and obtained a masters’ degree in political science from Virginia Tech before attending law school at Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans. He practiced law for a few years there but came back to Virginia to be closer to family. His wife, Linda, was raised in Virginia Beach. Together with their two daughters, the family relocated to Newport News in 1989, where Gary joined the law firm of Patten, Wornom, Hatten, & Diamonstein. (For those who are not familiar, the firm does a lot of work representing those who are afflicted with occupational lung diseases, most notably asbestosis. In partnership with Norfolk attorney Richard Glasser, they were among the first in the country to pursue litigation on behalf of workers and their families who had been exposed to this deadly contaminant.) After a brief stint with Rutter, Mills, Gary has been a solo practitioner since 2003. During this time, he also served on the Newport News Planning Commission.

Mentioned briefly on his website is something that I think really defines the man Gary West is: his family. His wife is a breast cancer survivor. This diagnosis came at a time when their two daughters, Catherine, now 24 and Diane, now 22, were in high school. Gary cut back on his law practice to care for Linda and the girls. Having watched him interact with his family on a couple of different occasions, there is genuine love and admiration among them. It is this dedication that Gary brings to the campaign. I get the sense that the whole West family is running for office.

The 94th district is an interesting one. Ten of the 19 precincts in the district lie in the 3rd Congressional district, represented by Democrat Bobby Scott. The other nine fall into the 1st Congressional district, represented by Republican Rob Wittman. Support of both Democrats and Republicans will be necessary. Gary has already demonstrated that he has both: his appointment to the Planning Commission garnered the unamious vote of the members of Newport News City Council.

He intends to focus his campaign on the big problems of our day: transportation and crime prevention. We discussed briefly his ideas on both, and more information will be forthcoming over the next few weeks.

Gary West will be a formidable challenger in this district. I look forward to his campaign and election.

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