Alexandria Sheriff James H. Dunning, whose wife was shot to death in a still-unsolved crime more than a year ago, said yesterday that he will not run again in November.
The sheriff is the second well-known incumbent in Alexandria politics to announce plans to step down in trying circumstances. Late last month, veteran Del. Marian Van Landingham (D) said she was again battling cancer and would not be seek another term or attend the General Assembly session in Richmond.
Del. Marian Van Landingham has a recurrence of cancer.
(File Photo)
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The departure of two such well-known figures -- both of whom have held their posts for two decades -- has unleashed a flurry of candidates and would-be candidates and speculation among Democrats. The left-leaning city of 128,000 has an all-Democrat council and is the home of Gov. Mark R. Warner (D).
"I think there are a lot of people who are anxious to offer their services," said Susan B. Kellom, who chairs the Alexandria Democratic Committee. "There aren't that many openings that come up, and people are seizing the opportunity."
Already, potential replacements for Dunning, who was first elected in 1985, are coming forward. Detective Dana Lawhorne, a Democrat, and former Republican City Council member William C. Cleveland, a retired police officer, have announced that they are candidates.
Kellom said a committee of Democrats from Fairfax and Arlington counties and Alexandria will meet this week to decide whether to hold a caucus or June primary to choose the party's candidate for Van Landingham's 45th District seat, which includes Alexandria and parts of Arlington and Fairfax. She favors a primary.
As the session began in Richmond this week, lawmakers described the news that Van Landingham was again suffering from cancer -- after she battled colon cancer during the 2003 General Assembly -- as a terrible blow and a major setback to Northern Virginia's delegation. She will be difficult to replace, lawmakers said, and Warner added a special tribute to the hometown delegate in his State of the Commonwealth speech. Van Landingham, 67, is the most senior woman in the House of Delegates and held a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
Libby Garvey (D), chair of the Arlington School Board and a Fairlington resident, became the first elected official to announce that she will run for Van Landingham's seat. Garvey, 53, who started as a PTA activist and was elected to the School Board eight years ago, was elected chairman last fall and had no immediate plans to run for state office, but Van Landingham's departure changed that, she said.
"It was a natural progression for me," she said.
Elsie Mosqueda, 61, a legislative aide to Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria); David Englin, 30, a former Air Force officer; and Richard Hobson, 73, a lawyer who served as a delegate from 1976 to 1980, have all said they are candidates to replace Van Landingham. The Republican who ran against Van Landingham in 2003, Robert J. Test, said he had no plans to run again.
"It's been so many years since that seat was open, you don't have an immediate front-runner, one formidable candidate everyone defers to," said former Alexandria City Council member David G. Speck (D). "It certainly appears the primary contest will be the most contested part of this election."
Although the filing deadline for sheriff candidates is not until April, the race is shaping up to be a contest between two experienced lawmen. Lawhorne, 47, a Del Ray native who has been on the Alexandria police force for 26 years, has already raised $23,000 for his campaign.
Cleveland, 56, is a retired U.S. Capitol Police officer and one of the best known Republicans in the city. He served on the City Council for 15 years before losing a bid for mayor in 2003.
Both men said that modernizing the sheriff's department's aging facilities and continuing to increase security at the city jail were top priorities. The sheriff -- who has an annual budget of $20 million and more than 200 employees -- oversees the jail, which has housed some of the country's highest-profile inmates, including convicted spy Robert P. Hanssen and terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui.
Dunning, 54, said yesterday that his decision not to run again was made before his wife's death. She was found shot to death in the foyer of their Del Ray home in December 2003.
"It's something my wife and I considered for a long time, and I can't say anything more than that," said Dunning, who has been on sick leave since he was hospitalized suffering from vertigo and severe dehydration in November.
