The Speaker of the House

 
Column by Ken Plum
www.kenplum.com

On January 12, 1978, the second day of business in the House of Delegates, Speaker John Warren Cooke rapped the session to order and called on the Gentleman from Fairfax, Mr. Plum, for purposes of a motion. I heard my name called, and I was petrified. It was my second day as a member of the state legislature. I could feel my face turning red as the eyes of the 99 other members of the House were fixed on me. As I slowly rose to my feet, the Speaker saved me by saying that Mr. Plum moves that we dispense with the reading of the journal.

I uttered, “Yes, sir,” and all the members of the House voted “no.” Since that was part of my initiation to the Floor of the House, the Speaker with a big grin in my direction announced that the motion had indeed passed. Everyone else in the House broke out in laughter. Now I was officially a member of the House and pleased that the initiation was concluded.

Throughout the session the Speaker had fun daily calling on someone out of his or her seat or not paying attention to make that same motion. A later change in the rules made the motion no longer necessary.

Last week, that Speaker of the House, the Honorable John Warren Cooke, the Gentleman from Mathews, passed away at age 94. He served as a member of the House from 1942 to 1980. I remember my first conversation with him when I realized that he was first elected the year I was born. In many regards he represents a transitional figure in Virginia’s governance. He was so highly respected that he seldom had a challenger for re-election. He recognized the coming of the two-party system in Virginia and was the first Speaker to put Republicans on committees that actually met. He never used his power as Speaker to punish members or to enforce party discipline.

Mr. Speaker was a man of great grace and charm. He was a tall and imposing figure but always showed his best manners and respect towards others. He was somewhat of the Old South. His father, who was 76 years old when he was born, had been an aide to General Robert E. Lee. He was mentioned as a possible candidate for governor but probably would not have been appealing as a candidate to the growing suburbs of the Commonwealth.

I visited Mr. Speaker a few years ago in the home where he had grown up and lived his entire life. He recognized that the Commonwealth had undergone tremendous changes since the mid-20th century. He had no regrets for his years of public service and expressed pleasure that the one quality everyone remembered about him was his fairness to everyone. We can all learn from the Gentleman from Mathews, Mr. Speaker, the Honorable John Warren Cooke.

Ken Plum is the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He represents the 36th District in the House of Delegates.