Lee Ware

Robert Lee Ware Jr. (born August 20, 1952) is an American politician representing Virginia's 72nd House of Delegates district. He was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1998, representing the 65th district. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Robert Lee Ware Jr. (born August 20, 1952) is an American politician representing Virginia's 72nd House of Delegates district. He was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1998, representing the 65th district. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Life, education, and career

Ware was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He received a B.A. degree in history and literature from Wheaton College in 1974 and pursued graduate studies in the same subjects at Harvard University, Asbury Seminary, Northeastern University, Longwood University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Ware moved to Powhatan, Virginia as editor of the weekly newspaper the Powhatan Gazette, where he worked between 1981-1984. Starting in 1984, Ware taught history and government at Powhatan High School for 15 years. He later taught at Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Academy. In 2012 he became academic dean of Benedictine College Preparatory School until his retirement in 2014. Ware is a Roman Catholic and has four children: Karen, Rob, Thomas, and Jeb. Ware has also served on numerous commissions as well as state-level boards, notably including the Virginia State Board of Education and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.

Positions and appointments

Ware has served on the House committees on: Agriculture (1998–2001) Chesapeake and Natural Resources (2002–present) Claims (1998–1999) Commerce and Labor (2002–present) Conservation and Natural Resources (1998–2001) Corporations Insurance and Banking (1998–2001) Finance (2001–present), formerly as Chair Militia and Police (2000–2001) Militia Police and Public Safety (2002–2003) Mining and Mineral Resources (1998–2000) Rules (2010–present)

Electoral history

Ware served two terms on the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors, 1988–1996. He was board chairman for one year. On December 17, 1997, state Senator Joseph B. Benedetti resigned his seat to accept Governor-elect Jim Gilmore's offer to become head of the state Department of Criminal Justice Services. 65th district Delegate John Watkins was chosen to succeed Benedetti in a special election on January 6, 1998. On January 13, the day before the Virginia General Assembly convened, Ware won a special election to replace Watkins. He was sworn in three days later. He has retained the delegate position since 1998, receiving greater than 70% of the vote in each election until 2013 (including multiple uncontested elections), when Michael P. "Mike" Asip won a over third of the votes in the 2019 general election. After another uncontested election in 2015, Ware has faced similar opposition each election, though he has still enjoyed a margin of victory of at least 25 percentage points each time.

Notes

External links

(campaign finance)

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1365672564 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.