After five terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, Richard “Dickie” Bell (R-Staunton) has announced that he will not seek re-election in the 20th House District in the upcoming statewide elections in 2019. Delegate Bell, who said that he is retiring to spend more time with his family, also remarked that “today’s political climate” is disconcerting and the “partisan divide” makes good governance “more difficult.”
Before he was elected to the state legislature in 2009, he served for more than 13 years as a city councilman in his hometown of Staunton, spending 14 years before that on various city boards and commissions. A graduate of Blue Ridge Community College, James Madison University, and Old Dominion University, Delegate Bell also served in the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps from 1967 to 1973. Afterwards, he became a special education teacher and coach, since retiring.
During his tenure in the House, Bell was a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, child welfare, and education initiatives, being appointed as vice chairman of the House Education Committee earlier this year. He is also a member of the House General Laws and House Health, Welfare, and Institutions committees.
The announcement of the legislator’s retirement came in an email he sent out Thursday morning, the News Leader reports.
“In 2009 I was elected to serve the citizens of the 20th House District as their Delegate to the General Assembly. It was a tremendous honor then, and it remains a tremendous honor now,” Delegate Bell said. “Public service has always been a calling for me, and I am pleased and proud to say that I have answered that call.”
He added that while his nearly four-decade career in public service “has not been without its challenges,” he said that “it has been a labor of love.”
Bell said that he has always had a “loyal staff” that have “supported me, shielded me, defended me and protected me from the very first day of this journey. I will be forever grateful for that blessing of loyalty.”
“My family has been incredibly supportive of everything I have done and they have suffered the slings and arrows so common in politics just as I have. Their support has never wavered and they have made many sacrifices on my behalf without ever complaining,” he said in the email. “They have been my sounding board, my confidantes, my defenders, and my team. I will continue to spend the rest of my life repaying them for their love and support.”
The atmosphere of lawmaking even on a state level seems to be not far from what it is on the national stage as Bell says that he encountered the brunt of “politics” on Bank Street upon arriving in Richmond almost 10 years ago. Though, he explained that he always waded through the muck to represent his constituents in the counties of Augusta, Highland, and Rockingham and the city of Staunton in the best way possible.
“Despite my years in local politics, when I went to Richmond I learned ‘things I never knew I never knew,'” the delegate said.
“I often tell people that unlike most others who run for office we had no money, no organization behind us and no clue what we were in for. There were times when I would wish ‘I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then’ but through it all I have always done my best to serve the citizens of the 20th District and represent their best interests,” he said.
“That brings us to 2019,” Bell added. This coming year all 140 members of the General Assembly are up for re-election – one election past in infamous “blue wave” of 2017 that ushered in a razor-thin, one-member Republican majority in the House.
The delegate said he “tried to be a good representative and a good public servant,” but that being “a good politician never really mattered to me because I don’t have a fondness for politics and I never have.”
“It’s a game I just don’t play well. I care more about people than politics. Today’s political climate saddens me and the partisan divide we see at every level of government makes public service more difficult,” he explained.
Though, he said the “decision to retire at this time has absolutely nothing to do with elections.”
“I have never been concerned about winning or losing elections. I am a competitor and I love competition and I have always believed that working hard and doing things the right way produce successful outcomes,” Bell said.
In the email, he referenced a quote from James Freeman Clarke, an American theologian and author, “’a politician cares about the next election, a statesman cares about the next generation.’ It’s not original to me but I think it describes my service well, and I believe my legislative record supports that claim. It would be an honor to someday be remembered as a statesman.”
Bell remarked about his time in the nearly 400-year-old legislative body that “it has been an honor to serve and I am proud of my service.”
“However,” he adds, “it is not my highest honor.”
He explained that his highest honor “would be the honor and blessing of being a husband and father and a humble servant of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have never apologized for my faith or my love for this country and my battle cry has always been ‘family first.’ Those are the things of which I am proudest.”
“Let me assure you that I am fine. I am not ill or sick, in fact I’m very healthy, but the clock is still ticking and no day is promised,” he stated.
Bell, who says he and his wife Anne are expecting their first grandchild in January, said a growing family “most certainly is part of the decision” to retire.
“Anne and I treasure the friendships that have sprung out of my time in public office and we hold them dear. Whatever it takes to maintain those relationships we plan to do,” he opined. “The opportunity to have more time to spend with my family and repay them for their loyalty and sacrifice over the years, as well as time for a new granddaughter has a strong pull on me and has me very excited.”
“I am not sad that my public service is coming to an end, but rather I am very grateful that the opportunity ever came along in the first place,” he said. “It has been a great, exciting ride!”
Remarking on vacating his seat in the coming year, Delegate Bell said, “as Thomas Jefferson remarked upon his retreat from the public life, ‘I will leave with my hands as clean as they are empty.’ It is a true blessing to be able to leave on your own terms.”
“Thank you all for your support. It has been overwhelming and humbling,” Bell concluded. “It has always been my honor and my humble pleasure to serve as your Delegate. May God richly bless each and every one of you, may God bless the Commonwealth of Virginia and may God bless the United States of America.”