Another one bites the dust.
Longtime Virginia Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Suffolk, made it official Thursday, becoming another Senator to announce their retirement from the General Assembly’s Upper Chamber this year (he joins William Wampler, R-Bristol, Mary Margaret Whipple, D-Arlington, and Patsy Ticer, D-Alexandria).
Senators conceded that his retirement had more to do with logistics; Quayle, 75, who has served in the Senate since 1992, was drawn into the same district as Sen. Harry Blevins, R-Chesapeake Beach, as part of the redistricting process.
“He is not leaving on his time, he is not leaving on his terms,” said Senate Minority leader Thomas Norment, R-James City County.
Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, actually apologized to Quayle on the Senate floor Thursday, saying that he should have called Quayle to let him know that the Democratic chamber was planning to move his district.
Quayle, a moderate Republican, noted a rightward shift in the General Assembly during his time in the legislature — which could increase after this fall with the retirement of Wampler from his own southwestern district.
