On July 23, the University's Center for Politics will host Virginia politicians from the past and present for the 2004 General Assembly Project.
The three panel discussions -- "Governing as a Citizen Legislature," hosted by former Virginia Gov. Gerald L. Baliles; "Competition, Compromise, and Camaraderie," hosted by Prof. Larry J. Sabato; and "The General Assembly in the 21st Century, Where Will We Go From Here?", hosted by Frank B. Atkinson, who served in Gov. George Allen's cabinet as counselor and director of policy -- will compose the one-day project.
The 2004 General Assembly Project is a slight variation on a theme previously investigated by the Center for Politics. For the past seven years, the Center has been responsible for organizing the Virginia Governor's Project.
"It started out as the longest running program for the Center for Politics," said Matt Smyth, director of communications for the Center for Politics. "For the past seven years we have studied a specific past governor, but we are getting pretty close to present. We want to make sure there is time between the administration and the conference."
The Center's shift to taking an in-depth look at the General Assembly is intended to continue engaging the public in politics while altering the focus of the conference.
"The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous legislature in the country," said Colin Allen, research and program associate with the Center for Politics. "It is something to be proud of and explored. Hopefully we will get some entertaining stories and anecdotes -- an oral history of how things work."
All current and former members of the Virginia General Assembly were invited to attend the conference. Each panel includes four to five panelists and a moderator who will offer questions to each panelist.
"Each panelist will have a chance to speak-out as they choose," Smyth said. "It should make for a lively discussion, and we are well-balanced as far as bipartisanship. We also have current members and some former members of the General Assembly so we can take a good look at the current make-up and the roots of the current situation."
The project, which will take place at the Richmond Marriott, will be open to the public.
"We expect a combination of some students and some concerned citizens and people that follow politics," Smyth said. "But we are also looking to pull new faces in, people who haven't been to a Center for Politics event before."
In addition, the Center for Politics will film the panel discussion as a sort of oral history project, as well as publish the conference's transcripts. Requests for use of the documentation come from within the University, the state and from across the nation, Smyth said.
As far as the willingness of past and present members of the General Assembly to participate in the Center for Politics' project, the response has been enthusiastic.
"They are eager to educate the public beyond what they see in the headlines, which is not always positive this time of year," Smyth said.
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