Bell aims for fifth term in House of Delegates
STAUNTON - Del. Dickie Bell, R-Staunton, will once again vie for election to the House of Delegates as the Republican nominee for District 20, which spans both Staunton and Waynesboro cities, as well as portions of Augusta, Highland and Nelson Counties.
“I’m honored, of course, to be nominated again," he said. "I always act first of all with my district constituents at heart, I try to serve them first."
He won the nomination from the Republican Legislative District Committee for House District 20, the committee announced Wednesday, as no one filed to run against him, which Bell said was a great vote of confidence, as he thinks that means people in the district are happy with the job he is doing representing them.
“Delegate Bell has strong support in House District 20, as is evidenced by his consistently decisive victories on Election Day," said Anne Fitzgerald, chair of the committee, in a press release. "Delegate Bell has been an excellent representative and I look forward to his continued service to our commonwealth."
Bell has held the seat since he originally won election to the General Assembly in 2009. Including that election, he has never received less than 71 percent of the vote for the District 20 seat.
“I think that’s a tremendous, high and comfortable number," Fitzgerald said. "He’s clearly popular and well-liked."
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Bell said should he be reelected, his approach to the next legislative session will depend a lot on who wins the state's race for governor.
"Most of the things that I want to do of course are conservative in nature," and so Bell said he's hoping for a Republican win there, though he emphasized that his first priority is his constituency. He added that he thinks a lot of the people of District 20, which is largely rural, often don't feel like their voices are heard by the General Assembly.
“I always try to make sure that their voice is heard," Bell said. "I try to listen and talk so that I can best serve them."
He chose to run for the Republican nomination through the convention process rather than a primary election, but that convention was cancelled because no one filed paperwork to run against him, leading the committee to certify Bell as the party's nominee.
Choosing a convention over a primary election is rare, Fitzgerald said, estimating that about 90 percent of Virginia state incumbent candidates choose to run for nomination in a primary as that's typically considered an advantage for incumbents. The "flipside" to that though is that a primary costs the taxpayers money to hold the election, whereas a convention does not, she said.
“Primaries are expensive, no doubt about," Bell said. "And when you consider the low turnout, you don’t get much bang for your buck, really."
The Republican Legislative District Committee for District 20 is made up of representatives from Augusta, Highland and Nelson Counties, as well as the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Committee members include Gary Chatelain (Augusta), Larry Bandy (Highland), Jim White (Nelson), Matt Fitzgerald (Staunton) and Ken Adams (Waynesboro).
Libertarian candidate Will Hammer last week announced his challenge to Bell's seat for the second election in a row. The election will be held on Tuesday, November 7.