Humility, sense of duty mark delegate's tenure

A humble press release last week announced the retirement of Gloucester Republican Del. Harvey Morgan.

The quiet dignity of that one-page notice was a fitting reflection of a man who has served in the legislature for 32 years without a trace of pretense or hypocrisy. The 80-year-old's departure from the state Capitol was all the more poignant because it occurred in a week when many more headlines were devoted to the last gasps of another prominent lawmaker's career.

Morgan and former Newport News Del. Phil Hamilton are both residents of the greater Tidewater region and were senior members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, which writes the state budget. The similarities end there.

A disgraced Hamilton has already lost elected office and faces bankruptcy. He spent last week in a Richmond courtroom trying to stay out of prison after being charged with bribery and extortion.

During his 21 years in office, Hamilton churned out scores of media releases and made the rounds at Capitol press conferences. His name and opinions on countless subjects were familiar to any regular newspaper reader in the commonwealth.

In contrast, no legal or ethical questions blemish Morgan's long career, and his press announcement was the first I had ever received from his office. Despite his standing as the second-longest serving delegate, his was not a household name.

But if I had to give the title of "Rebel" to one of these men, it would go to Morgan. In his unassuming and unfailingly polite way, he managed to break all of the rules that most politicians live by.

He rarely wasted his colleagues' time giving windy, self-important speeches. In the few instances when he did take the microphone, he was known for publicly admitting mistakes and doing his best to correct them.

That was the case after he sponsored 2002 legislation intended to establish guidelines for payday lenders. The law had the unintended consequence of causing predatory businesses to spread like weeds, and few lawmakers have worked harder than Morgan to undo the damage.

Morgan also cared little about kowtowing to big campaign donors. When Dominion Virginia Power sought new laws that would enable the utility to rack up excessive earnings, he warned legislators that they weren't qualified to meddle in complex issues previously handled by regulatory experts.

"Do you understand this bill, and could you explain it to your constituents?" he challenged them in 2007. "Ask yourself, do you know what kind of rate hike this will pile on families and employers in your district?"

Legislators ignored his advice, although judging from some of their financial disclosures, they did take to heart his half-joking recommendation that if they passed the law they should buy Dominion stock.

Powerful special interests rolled over the slender man with the bow tie time after time, but the retired pharmacist always popped back up swinging. And for every antagonist he gigged, he won dozens of friends.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, who once roomed with Morgan during winter legislative sessions, recalled with admiration his habit of rising at 4 a.m. each day to read bills. Morgan also helped start a sunrise caucus that met for civil discussions and Bible study. When reporters nodded off in boredom during lengthy debates, the delegate would dance past press row and leap into the air, clicking his heels, to the delight of his audience.

Morgan spent much of his legislative career fighting for better access to health care and mental health reforms. In that respect, his interests were closely aligned with Hamilton's. But the Newport News delegate was the more ambitious of the two and fully expected to become chairman of the Appropriations Committee one day. Most Capitol Square observers considered his ascendance inevitable, although some shuddered at the thought.

Hamilton is accused of using his committee assignment to negotiate a job for himself at Old Dominion University. Such betrayal is anathema to Morgan, although he's not naive about its root cause.

"Ambition is good, but it can drive you in the wrong direction," he said.

Asked why he never succumbed to those temptations, Morgan noted that he was first elected at the level-headed age of 49. He had lived much of his life without setting foot in the Capitol, and he wasn't afraid to walk away.

"I've never felt I had to be there," he said. "I wanted to be there if my citizens wanted me to be there. That's given me a lot of freedom."

Christina Nuckols is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. E-mail: christina.nuckols@pilotonline.com.