People and Politics: July/August 2012 | STATE LEGISLATURES MAGAZINE

CONNECTICUT SENATOR EDITH PRAGUE, at 86 the oldest member of the Connecticut General Assembly, retired at the end of the session after 30 years of service. A Democrat and advocate of the elderly, children and organized labor, Prague was first elected to the House in 1982. She served as the commissioner on aging under Governor Lowell Weicker Jr. for two years before he fired her for resisting his plans to consolidate the agency. She claimed he viewed senior citizens as “greedy geezers.” She was elected to the Senate in 1994. Senators praised her service and gave her a sustained standing ovation on her last day.

THE REPUBLICAN STATE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE has applied for the top-level .GOP Internet domain to help advance the mission of the Republican Party. The idea is to allow candidates and organizations to clearly identify themselves and their campaigns as Republican. This “is the latest in a series of steps to ensure that Republicans at all levels of the ballot have the opportunity to utilize leading and emerging technologies,” says RSLC President Chris Jankowski. The new domain “will soon be ready to help catapult thousands of Republican campaigns across the country.”

GEORGIA SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEM TOMMIE WILLIAMS has announced he will step down from his leadership post when the Legislature convenes in January. An onion farmer and teacher from rural Georgia where Republicans rarely won, Williams was elected to the Senate in 1998 and played a key role in the GOP takeover of the chamber in 2002. He served as majority leader, then president pro tem in 2009. He helped orchestrate a coup that stripped much of the power of the lieutenant governor, later stating, “I feel strongly that the powers that reside with the Senate should remain with the Senate as the legislative branch.” Williams, 57, is running unopposed for his seat. In an email to his caucus announcing his decision, Williams said he believes “leadership positions as well as major chairmanships should be rotated or term limited …” Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers said Williams is “one of the most decent men I have ever had the privilege to know. He leads with a heart of compassion rarely found in politics. … However, real leadership does not need a title, and Tommie Williams will continue to be a major force for good.”

THE KANSAS SENATE RECOGNIZED PAT SAVILLE for “extraordinary service, your sense of fairness, your unfailing attention to detail and your unflinching adherence to what is right” when she retired as the longest serving secretary of the Senate in the history of the state. She served under Senate Presidents Bud Burke, Dick Bond, Dave Kerr and Stephen Morris in her 22-year career as secretary. During that time she served as president of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries (ASLCS), was awarded the prestigious NCSL and ASLCS Staff Achievement Award, and served on the NCSL executive committee. Saville began her state employment in 1964 working with the Veterans Commission and then moved to the House. She was appointed secretary of the Senate in 1990.

CRIME VICTIM ADVOCATES FROM ACROSS THE NATION PAID TRIBUTE to former Michigan legislator William Van Regenmorter who died in June at the age of 73. Author of the Michigan Crime Victim’s Right Act of 1985, he helped more than 30 states write similar legislation. The law passed while Van Regenmorter was a member of the Republican minority in the House and became a national model to protect the rights of people harmed by crime. The U.S. Department of Justice in 2009 honored him with the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award. Van Regenmorter spent nearly 25 years in the Michigan Legislature before retiring in 2006. Van Regenmorter was widely regarded as one of Michigan’s most respected statesmen. Even though he wasn’t a lawyer, his impact on the justice system is far-reaching. “There is no question that without Bill we could not have made as much progress as we have in securing crime victims’ rights throughout our entire nation,” said Steve Derene, executive director of the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators. “Bill’s legacy can be found in his pioneering efforts that empowered countless crime victims and those that serve them to stand up for victims’ rights.” Lawmakers, prosecutors, congressmen and the Michigan attorney general all paid tribute to Van Regenmorter.

AS LAWMAKERS WRAPPED UP A MARATHON SESSION, Delaware House Speaker Robert Gilligan (D) stunned colleagues by announcing he is retiring from the legislature after 40 years. Lawmakers praised him from the floor, and Governor Jack Markell called him “a giant not just in stature but in the contributions you have made to this state over 40 years.” First elected in 1972, Gilligan became speaker in 2008 when Democrats took control of the House. He decided he wanted to spend more time with his family. “It’s a great institution, and I do love this place, but you’ve got to move on when it’s in your gut and it’s in your heart,” he said.

ALABAMA HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE HUBBARD has written a first-hand account of the 2010 Republican campaign to win the state legislature for the first time in 136 years. “Storming the Statehouse, The Campaign that Liberated Alabama from 136 years of Democratic Rule” is Hubbard’s battlefield narrative of how he orchestrated the GOP revolution that changed the political landscape in the state. It was published by New South Books.

VERMONT DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER LUCY LERICHE has announced she will not seek a fifth term. She is leaving the legislature because she can’t afford to stay. House Speaker Shap Smith said Leriche is “a great person, a great leader and she’s a good friend, but I think she needs to make some money and that’s a reality we have to face with a citizen legislature. It’s too bad because we are losing a talented person.” Vermont legislators make $604.79 per week during session, which runs for about four months.