Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Privacy protected information closed for 100 years after date record created. Types of records restricted include, but are not limited to: state employee/dependent medical information, employee performance reviews, and employee grievance materials that were sent to the Secretary of Administration and are part of the constituent correspondence series. Death certificates are closed for 50 years and are also found within the constituent correspondence series. Attorney-Client privileged documents are closed permanently.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Secretary of Administration, Correspondence and subject files, 1998-2001. Accession 38941, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Office of the Secretary of Administration on January 10, 2002.

Biographical/Historical Information

The Office of Administration was established in 1966 as part of the Office of the Governor to assist the chief executive in carrying out his duties. Several agencies including the divisions of the Budget, Personnel, Engineering and Building and Planning reported to the Commissioner of Administration. This system was inadequate. In 1970, the Governor's Management Commission Study recommended the creation of six "Deputy Governors" to assist the Chief Executive in his managerial duties. Compatible functions of government were grouped under these administrative heads, who would serve as the Governors top management team or "secretariats," as they are called now.

Governor Linwood Holton's top priority for the 1972 session of the General Assembly was a proposal for a Governor's Cabinet, reorganizing state agencies into six major departments--each headed by a secretary appointed by the governor. The Office of Administration was made one of these six departments. The office of Secretary of Administration was created on April 8, 1972, by an act passed by the General Assembly. Governor Holton appointed T. Edward Temple, the Commissioner of Administration since 1970, as the first Secretary of Administration. When Temple took office on July 1, 1972, he was responsible for the divisions of the Budget, Personnel, Engineering and Buildings, Automated Data Processing, Justice and Crime Prevention, State Planning and Community Affairs, Council on the Environment, State Board of Elections and the Office of Special Programs. The Office has undergone a series of administrative reorganizations since 1972. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature combined the secretariats for administration and finance, effective July 1, 1976. On July 1, 1984, the offices were separated. The Secretary of Administration is a member of the Governor's Cabinet, and is appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. Currently the Secretary of Administration is responsible for the direction or jurisdiction over the following state agencies and boards: Charitable Gambling Commission, Compensation Board, Department of Employee Relations Counselors, Department of General Services, Department of Human Resource Management, Council on Human Rights, Commission on Local Government, Department of Rights for Virginians with Disabilities, and the Department of Veteran's Affairs.

In January 1998 Governor-elect James S. Gilmore III named G. Bryan Slater as Secretary of Administration. Slater also served as Gilmore's Deputy Chief of Staff. He worked on Gilmore's campaign for attorney general in 1993 and served as his director of administration when Gilmore was Virginia Attorney General (1994-1997). Slater resigned in March 2001 to work for the Republican National Committee which Gilmore chaired. He was replaced by his deputy, Donald L. Moseley who served until the end of the Gilmore administration in January 2002.

Scope and Content Information

The Secretary of Administration records contain 17.23 cubic feet of material ranging from 1998-2001 (with a few items dating from 1990-1997) and are arranged in sixteen series. Series I consists of constituent correspondence to the Governor referred to the secretary for response and are arranged by tracking numbers assigned by the Governor's Office and date received. The majority of the correspondence are from state employees and veterans and describe their concerns. G. Bryan Slater, Secretary of Administration, or Donald L. Moseley, wrote responses to nearly all of these letters. Series II is correspondence to the Office of the Secretary and is arranged chronologically. Series III contains correspondence arranged by department and then chronologically therein. Notable topics include State Board of Election material related to the Motor Voter Program. Series IV and V consists of records related to capital expenditures and state maintenance are arranged by subject.

Series VI contains Environmental Impact Studies for state funded construction projects and are arranged by date of approval by the Secretary of Administration. Series VII consists of Legislative Files containing Enrolled Bill Reviews and Legislative Action Summaries on bills pertaining to the Secretary of Administration. The Secretary reviewed these documents, added his comments and sent his recommendation to the Governor. Series VII also includes some Department of Planning and Budget Fiscal Impact Statements and talking points prepared for the Secretary.

Series VIII contains minutes and transcripts of the Public Broadcast Board from 1998 to 2001. Series IX documents Governor Gilmore's Town Hall meetings with state employees held in September 1998 including the Governor's briefing book, employee comment cards and videotapes of all four meetings. Series IX also includes a complete statistical report on the 1998 state employee survey. Series X consists of the records of the Y2K Project Office (also known as the Century Date Change Initiative Project Office) containing correspondence, minutes, notes and reports. Series XI and XII chronicle special projects undertaken by the secretary involving the 2000 census and military voting. Series XIII contains intellectual property reports from 1995 to 2001. Series XIV consists of assessments of state and federal mandates on state agencies and local governments. Series XV documents the transfer of Richmond's Main Street Station to the City of Richmond.

Series XVI chronicles the 1998-2000 renovation of the Executive Mansion. The series is divided into seven sub-series: Studies, Electronic Mail, Organizations, Project Records, Articles, Miscellaneous and Bob Vila. Included is a copy of 1990 study titled "Long Range Improvement Planning Study for the Executive Mansion, Capitol Square, Richmond, Virginia." The electronic mail sub-series contains messages either written to, written by or cc to G. Bryan Slater between 1998-2000. Notable recipients/writers include: Billy Reid, Special Assistant, Office of the Secretary of Administration; Donald C. Williams, Director of the Department of General Services; Donna Case, Director of the Executive Mansion; Roxanne G. Gilmore, First Lady of Virginia; Sarah Beaseley Monzon of Bob Vila Television; and Samuel W. Daniel, construction manager. Subjects include: mansion renovation brochure; Architectural Digest article; punch-list items, repairs and to-do lists; media request to tour the mansion; Bob Vila/Home Again filming; move back to the mansion; progress reports on mansion work; and the move to the Brown home. Notable message include: a 19 June 2000 e-mail from Donna Case, relaying Roxanne Gilmore's concerns about the mansions bug problems; a 29 December 1999 message from Billy Reid relaying Bob Vila's request that he be flown from Boston to Richmond then to Miami on the state plane; and a 18 October 1999 message from Donald C. Williams describing a meeting Williams had with Samuel Daniel about the projects schedule.

The sub-series Project Records contains a wealth of information on the renovation including: Executive Committee minutes, agenda and reports from 1998-1999; documents describing the search for temporary housing for the governor while the renovations are taking place; punch-lists from 1999-2000 documenting various minor problems/repairs that need to be made to the Executive Mansion and newspaper and magazine articles about the renovation.

The sub-series on Bob Vila contains correspondence and newspaper clippings on Vila's documentation of the renovation project for his program Bob Vila's Home Again. Videotapes of all thirteen episodes are included.

Organization

Organized into the following series: Series I. Constituent Correspondence; Series II. Correspondence - Office of the Secretary; Series III. Correspondence - State Agencies; Series IV. Capital Outlay Files; Series V. Maintenance Files; Series VI. Environmental Impact Studies; Series VII. Legislative Files; Series VIII. Public Broadcasting Board Minutes

Series IX. Town Hall Meeting Files/State Employee Survey and Results Data; Series X. Y2K Project Office Files; Series XI. Census Project; Series XII. Military Voting Project; Series XIII. Intellectual Property Reports; Series XIV. Assessment of State and Federal Mandates on Local Government; Series XV. Main Street Station; Series XVI. Executive Mansion Renovation