UVA Center for Politics

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Home > Programs > Gov. Project > Dalton '00 > Panelists

Fourth Panel Members

"The Political Climate"

Ray Ashworth
Ray Ashworth served in the House of Delegates from 1970 to 1981. For the duration of his term, Ashworth served on the Agriculture, General Rules, Conservation and Natural Resources Committees. At the time of his retirement, Ashworth was the chair of Conservation and Natural Resources and sat on the Roads and Finance Committees. From 1981 to 1991, he served as the Executive Vice-President of Virginia Trucking Association. Currently, Ashworth serves as president of the lobbying firm Ashworth Associates.

Vince Callahan
Delegate Vince F. Callahan, Jr., has served the 34th House District (County of Fairfax) in the Virginia General Assembly since 1968. Callahan is the co-chairman of the House Appropriations committee, as well as a member of the Corporations Insurance and Banking, Rules, and Privileges and Elections committees. Callahan is a graduate of Georgetown University and American University, as well as a former Marine and Coast Guard Reserve. He was a Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1965 and Congress in 1976, as well as Minority Floor leader in the House from 1982 to 1985.

Richard Cullen
Mr. Richard Cullen is a partner at McGuire, Woods, Battle, and Booth. He was Virginia's 39th Attorney General, serving from June 12, 1997 until January 17, 1998. From 1991-1993, Mr. Cullen was United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, having been appointed by President Bush. While U.S. Attorney, he was appointed to the Attorney General's Advisory Committee, a group of 10 United States Attorneys that advised the Attorney General and President on criminal justice issues. Governor Allen appointed Mr. Cullen to three state commissions, including his co-chairmanship of the Governor's Commission on Parole Abolition and Sentencing Reform. That commission's work led to substantial changes to the criminal justice system in Virginia. Mr. Cullen serves on the Executive Committee of the Virginia Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar Council.

Margaret Edds
Margaret Edds is currently an editorial writer for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and previously covered Virginia politics and government for almost two decades. Edds has written two books: Free At Last: What Really Happened When Civil Rights Came to Southern Politics (Adler & Adler, 1987), focusing on the impact of the Voting Rights Act, and Claiming the Dream: The Victorious Campaign of Douglas Wilder (Algonquin Books, 1990). She is currently at work with Dr. Thomas Morris, president of Emory & Henry College, on the Virginia chapter of a book focusing on southern politics in the 1990's. Edds is a former Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow and has received numerous state and national journalism awards.

Henry Marsh
Henry Marsh graduated with honors from Virginia Union University and then earned his law degree at Howard University. He began his legal career in 1961 with the firm of Hill, Tucker and Marsh, joining the fight against the policy of "massive resistance" which reacted to the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education . From 1966 to 1991, Marsh served on the Richmond City Council where he was elected Vice-Mayor in 1970, and in 1977 he was elected as Richmond's first African-American mayor. He was co-founder of Richmond Renaissance and the Metropolitan Economic Development Council and founder of Blacks Mobilized Against Crime. In 1991, Henry Marsh was elected as Senator of the 16th Senate District. He won the Democratic nomination for the newly created Senate District, and was re-elected to serve a second term in the Virginia State Senate in 1995.

Selwyn Smith
Selwyn Smith has been involved in the legal side of Virginia government as a lawyer, legislator, administrator and judge. As a legislator, Smith served the Virginia Senate from 1972 too 1976 and sat on the Criminal Justice Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments. In July 1976, Smith was appointed by Governor Godwin as the Secretary of Public Safety for the Commonwealth and was later reappointed by Governor Dalton. As Secretary of Public Safety, Smith oversaw the Criminal Justice System, the Fire Services Commission, and the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission. He also maintained the interface between the Judiciary of the Commonwealth and the Legislative Branch. Smith has practiced law before all levles of State Courts and agencies and in the Federal Courts of Virginia. After his tenure in state government, Selwyn Smith was appointed judge of the 31st Judicial Circuit of Virginia in 1980.