Tom Garrett (Virginia politician)

Last updated

Tom Garrett
Tom Garrett official congressional photo (cropped 2).jpg
Member of the VirginiaHouseofDelegates
from the 56th district
Assumed office
January 10, 2024
Children3 daughters
Education University of Richmond
(BA, JD)
Military service
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg United States
Branch/serviceFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Years of service1995–2000
Rank US-O3 insignia.svg Captain
Unit 214th Fires Brigade

Thomas Alexander Garrett Jr. (born March 27, 1972) is an American politician and attorney. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives for Virginia's 5th congressional district. A Republican, Garrett formerly represented the 22nd district in the Virginia Senate. [1] In November 2022, Garrett announced he would run for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023. [2] In the 2023 Virginia House of Delegates election he was elected in the 56th district. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Thomas Garrett was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Thomas Alexander Garrett Sr. and his wife, Lois. Garrett is a graduate of Louisa County High School and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Richmond. [4]

Career

Garrett served for six years in the United States Army, where he was a Field Artillery officer. [5] [6]

Commonwealth's attorney

Garrett served as an Assistant Attorney General under Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell. In 2007, he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for Louisa County.

State Senate

After the General Assembly redistricted the State Senate as required by the Virginia Constitution in 2011, Garrett decided to run for an open seat. The 22nd District was open due to the incumbent Republican Ralph K. Smith's home in Roanoke being drawn into another district.

In the Republican primary, Garrett came in first in a five-person field with nearly 26% of the vote and a margin of fewer than 200 votes. [7] During his time in office, he served on the General Laws and Technology, Courts of Justice, Education and Health, and Privileges and Elections committees.

U.S House of Representatives

Elections

2016

In May 2016, after three ballots at the Republican nominating convention, Garrett won the Republican nomination for U.S. Representative in Virginia's 5th congressional district. [1]

In the November 2016 general election, Garrett defeated Democratic nominee Jane Dittmar, the former chairwoman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Garrett won with 58.2% of the vote to Dittmar's 41.6%. [8] [9]

2018

In the spring of 2018, reports surfaced that Garrett and his wife, Flanna, used his congressional staff for personal use, leading his chief of staff to abruptly resign. Personal use of the staff time included running errands, house sitting, chauffeuring his kids and cleaning up after their dog. [10] [11] [12]

Rumors also spread that Garrett might not run again. [13] [14] Garrett clarified later that he intended to run [15] in what political analyst Larry Sabato called "one of the oddest" speeches. [16] As of April 2018, Garrett was outraised by multiple Democratic opponents. [17] In light of these fundraising numbers, the Cook Political Report moved the race from "likely Republican" to the more competitive "leans Republican." [18] Democrats went on to nominate former investigative journalist Leslie Cockburn. [19]

On May 28, 2018, Garrett announced that he is an alcoholic [20] and would not seek reelection in 2018.

Tenure

In January 2017, Garrett was named to the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Education and the Workforce. He was also a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, [21] though he told voters during the campaign that he would not join the group. [22] Garrett was a member of the Republican Study Committee. [23]

In March 2017, Garrett posed for a photo with Jason Kessler, one of his constituents who was an organizer of the Unite the Right rally, a far-right rally held in August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The rally became the site of violent clashes, leaving about 30 people injured, followed shortly by an incident in which a white supremacist rammed his car into a crowd, killing a woman and injuring 19 other people. [24] After the rally, Garrett disavowed the organizer and said he was unaware of Kessler's role in the rally when they initially met.

Personal life

In April 2019, Garrett and his wife, Flanna Sheridan, separated. [25] In August 2021, Sheridan filed suit in Rockingham County Circuit Court for false imprisonment, emotional distress, trespassing and civil assault, seeking $450,000 in damages [25] stemming from an attempt by Garrett to repossess a vehicle driven by Sheridan. [25] Nevertheless, in April of 2024 a judge dismissed the case within ten minutes of being in the courtroom due to the lack of merit behind the allegations made by Sheridan. [26]

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References

  1. 1 2 Rohr, Alex (May 14, 2016). "Sen. Tom Garrett wins 5th District Republican nomination on third ballot". The News & Advance .
  2. ↑ "Former Rep. Tom Garrett seeks redemption, return in bid for House of Delegates". November 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=1013591
  4. ↑ "Garrett to Challenge Short for Louisa Post". The Central Virginian . June 21, 2007.
  5. ↑ James Ivancic, Freshman Congressman Tom Garrett looks forward to busy session, Fauquier Times (December 27, 2016).
  6. ↑ Staff reports, Candidates for 5th District outline priorities for Southside, Gazette-Virginian (October 31, 2016).
  7. ↑ "2011 Results, Virginia State Board of Elections". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Virginia 2016 general election results". November 9, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Virginia Elections Database » Search Elections". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ | Aides to a GOP congressman say they spent most of their days chauffeuring their boss's family and cleaning up dog poop | Grace Panetta |
  11. ↑ | May 25, 2018 | Virginia Rep. Tom Garrett accused of making staffers his 'personal servants' | Alex Pappas | Fox News |
  12. ↑ | June 1, 2018 | GOP Lawmaker Requested 'Sensitive' Email Audit Of His Own Staff | Susan Davis |
  13. ↑ "Garrett in turmoil, might quit Congress". POLITICO. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  14. ↑ Hammel, Tyler. "Report: Garrett might drop out of 5th District race". The Daily Progress. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  15. ↑ reports, The Daily Progress staff. "Garrett says he will run for reelection". The Daily Progress. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Larry Sabato on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Democrats crush House Republicans in fundraising". POLITICO. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  18. ↑ "New House FEC Reports: Rating Changes in 7 Districts". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  19. ↑ Progress, Tyler Hammel The (Charlottesville) Daily. "Cockburn receives 5th District Democratic nomination". Roanoke Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  20. ↑ Washington Post. "Rep. Garrett announces he is an alcoholic and will not seek re-election" . Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  21. ↑ Portnoy, Jenna (March 15, 2017). "Three Virginia GOP congressmen, including Rep. Tom Garrett in 5th District, line up against GOP health care plan". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  22. ↑ The Editorial Board. "An Endorsement: Garrett Would Fight for Fifth District in Congress". NewsAdvance.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  24. ↑ "How Virginia candidates responded to the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville". Washington Post . August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  25. 1 2 3 News-Record, IAN MUNRO Daily (August 27, 2021). "Lawsuit Entangles City Towing Firm, Former Congressman". Daily News-Record. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  26. ↑ Office of the 56th District of the Virginia House of Delegates

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Senate of Virginia
Preceded by Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 22nd district
2012–2017		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the  U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 5th congressional district
2017–2019		Succeeded by
Virginia House of Delegates
Preceded by Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 56th district
2024–present		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative		Succeeded byas Former US Representative
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