Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

One of the Good Guys

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Dick Hall-Sizemore
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by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Former Del. A.R. “Pete” Giesen died last Friday. He was one of the good ones.

He served in the House of Delegates from 1934-1974 and 1975-1996, representing the Staunton-Waynesboro area. He was a moderate Valley Republican.

I have somewhat of a bias. He chaired the first legislative committee I staffed when I joined the Division of Legislative Services. Back in the those days, the major study committees ran through something called the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council, comprised of the leadership of the General Assembly. It was the Study Committee on the Needs of Young Children that he chaired that year.

Pete was smart and a savvy politician. But, most of all, he was a nice person who had a kind word for everyone he came into contact with, including staff. He also had a great sense of humor and a great sense of perspective.

After he retired from the legislature, he lobbied some for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County and taught political science part-time at James Madison University.

The General Assembly could use a lot more Pete Giesens.

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14 responses to “One of the Good Guys”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Dick – do you know what he did in the Valley to make a living? A Farmer or ?

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Several businesses. He was a Yale undergrad with a Harvard MBA. But his passion was the legislative work.

      Nice job, Dick. I should have done this but this one hit me hard. I really got to know Pete best when he ran for LG in 1985, a nomination he didn’t get. Then in 1986 he was one of the GOP legislators who persuaded me to leave the newspaper and come to Richmond to get in the game, eventually recruiting me as caucus director 18 months later. Because of his Radford upbringing we had quite a few friends and family in common.

      Understand that Pete came from the Mountain-Valley strain of the Virginia GOP, very much the anti-machine movement. Dalton, Turk, Holton are some of the other names to recall. These were the opponents to Massive Resistance, the poll tax and the other levers of political oppression. Before he did, his mother served in the House — not many women in those days.

  2. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    I did not know Mr. Giesen but he does sound like the kind of man we could use in our General Assembly right now.

    Mr. Hall-Sizemore and Mr. Haner, please accept my sympathy on the loss of your friend.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Thank you, Wayne.

      1. Stephen Haner Avatar
        Stephen Haner

        ‘Tis a stage in life when I dread opening the paper and turning to those pages.

  3. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    “He served in the House of Delegates from 1934-1974 and 1975-1996, representing the Staunton-Waynesboro area.”

    1996 – 1934 = 62.

    He served for 62 years?

    That doesn’t seem possible.

    Just curious – what happened to break the timespan in 1974 / 1975?

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Typo on my part–it should have been 1964, rather than 1934. He resigned his seat and made a run for the Senate in 1974 and was beaten in a special election by Frank Nolen. He won his old seat back the next year.

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        32 years is still a long run and anybody who was willing to take on the Byrd Machine, especially over Massive Resistance, should be honored and remembered.

  4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    Delegate Giesen had a long run. I bet a memoir from his time would be a great read. Lacy Putney had the longest time of them all. 1963 to 2014. I think Ken Plum is the current grand old man of the House of Delegates. Tried and true since 1978.

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Knowing some of them, whether to serve them or to try to tie them up or even defeat them, has been quite a privilege. Most are far nicer, far more dedicated than the public realizes, and it was an age when policy differences didn’t need to end friendly relationships.

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        And then there’s Dick Saslaw and Amanda Chase … the bad apples get all the press.

    2. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      What a shame that nobody undertook the writing of a biography of Lacy Putnam along the lines of Maverick Miner. The period 1963 – 2014 was one of the most pivotal and fascinating in Virginia and America.

  5. Baconator with extra cheese Avatar
    Baconator with extra cheese

    Are you saying the GA could use more old white men?
    Just kidding, but being woke is so fun…. you get to make everyone seem racist or intolerant. It’s the best cudgel ever!
    I have a new plan where I am going to rouse my neighbors to take on the HOA because the rules disproportionately affect Black and brown people and is a remnant of “redlining” and Jim Crow. And then go after the state laws backing HOAs… so so entertaining. I don’t use the pool anyway….

  6. Paul Sweet Avatar
    Paul Sweet

    I believe that he ran Verona Steel (presently the Verona plant of Liphart Steel). The Roanoke Times had a good editorial on him:

    https://roanoke.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-what-we-can-learn-from-pete-giesens-career/article_3ec9dac0-9647-11eb-b4b9-e35adcfe7984.html?mode=comments#tracking-source=in-article

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