Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, Records of the Policy Office: Conferences and Special Projects, 1983-1992. Accession 34265, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder on 31 October 1996.

Biographical Information

Lawrence Douglas Wilder was born in Richmond, Va., on January 17, 1931. He graduated from Virginia Union University in 1951 and afterwards was drafted into the Army, where he served in the Korean War from 1952-1953 and received a bronze star. He then attended the Howard University School of Law and graduated in 1959. Douglas Wilder was elected to the Virginia Senate in 1969 as the first African American member since Reconstruction and served in the Senate for five terms. In 1985, he was elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor as the first African American to be elected to statewide office in Virginia. L. Douglas Wilder won the election for Governor of Virginia in 1989 and served from January 13, 1990 to January 14, 1994. He was the first African American to be elected as Governor in United States.

During the Wilder Administration, the Policy Office was headed by Walter McFarlane, Executive Assistant for Policy, and four Special Assistants: Richard Taylor (Health and Human Resources, and Education), Robert Blue (Finance and Natural Resources), Jeff Nuechterlein (Economic Development and Transportation), and Lynne Porfiri (Administration and Public Safety). The Policy Office was responsible for review and coordination of all policy matters, including: review of proposed legislation from agencies and Cabinet; formulation of the Governor's legislative initiatives; tracking legislation and serving as legislative liaison; review of General Assembly approved legislation submitted to the Governor for signature, amendment or veto; review of death penalty clemency requests, as well as other pardon and restoration of rights requests; review of legal settlements and other legal matters from the Office of the Attorney General's Office; review of proposed regulations; review of all matters pertaining to the judiciary and writs of habeas corpus; review of proposed executive orders; assistance with speech writing; serving as staff for Governor's special commissions; administrative support for Governor's Fellows program; serving as special interest liaison; acting as in-house counsel; and all correspondence with policy implications or pertaining to sensitive or controversial issues requiring legal overview.

Scope and Content

Records of the Policy Office: Conferences and Special Projects of Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, 1983-1992, are housed in 23 boxes and are arranged chronologically by date of conference or special project. Includes agendas, brochures, calendars, clippings, correspondence, information packets, invitations, license plates, lists, logos, maps, memorandums, menus, minutes, notes, photographs, proceedings, schedules, and other documents detailing conferences and special projects during the administration of Governor Wilder, along with the previous administrations of Governor Robb and Governor Baliles. Conferences and Special Projects cover drugs, education, foreign trade, health care, physical fitness, rural development, state involvement in Desert Shield/Desert Storm, commissioning of the USS George Washington, as well as other topics.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically by date of conference or special project.