Kirk Cox recalls his early days in the Virginia House of Delegates, his first term in the 1990 legislative session.

Another lawmaker walked past him inside the Capitol and joked, “Lean green.”

“And I kind of went, ‘What does that mean?’ This [involved either] an insurance bill or a bank bill,” says Cox.

He adds: “I forgot which one he thought would give him the most contributions – and we didn’t have a lot of people like that – but I just thought that wasn’t what you were here for.”

Earlier this month, as the Virginia General Assembly convened for its 2022 session, Cox — the Republican former Speaker of the House, majority leader and party whip — acknowledged his life as private citizen after 32 years representing the state’s 66th district, which includes the city of Colonial Heights and parts of Chesterfield County.

Just days after retiring, Cox, 64, reflected on his time as a lawmaker, how national politics is increasingly bleeding into state and local elections, the fraying of civil discourse and changes erratic political fortunes.

“I obviously would have loved to be a speaker more than two years, there’s no doubt about that,” Cox says. “These four years [2016-2020] obviously very volatile. … Our politics have kind of been nationalized at the state level. It was only true for us at the beginning of my career [when you could] run on the merits of what you have done in the district.

As for what exactly comes next, it’s a question the veteran lawmaker admits will take some time to ponder.

“I really don’t know, frankly,” he says, noting that he’s only had two jobs since college — as a high school civics teacher and a state legislator, careers that go hand in hand. rode for more than two decades until he left teaching in 2012.

Cox recalled the irony of his journey through the House of Delegates starting in the back row of the chamber in his first term, essentially being sent back to the “well” by Democratic Speaker Albert “AL” Philpott.

The lawmaker, who would follow Philpott’s path to the dais some 15 terms later, tells the story with comedic nostalgia of his inauspicious beginnings after defeating an incumbent Democrat to join the Republican minority in the House.

“President Philpott was not pleased with me. I was a young Republican who had beaten [Del. John G.] ‘Chip’ Dicks,” in an upset election, he explains. He continues, “I was very passionate about education, and I’m a teacher, so I wrote him this very passionate letter about my involvement with the education committee. And I found out two things: he didn’t like the teachers and he didn’t like me, so I didn’t have to worry about being on the education committee. … And he put me in what was considered the worst seat in the House. And life is ironic, because it’s the way to the seat in the well, in the very corner. Well, it’s the same seat the President has. If there’s a Republican president, which there never has been, that seat remains empty, basically, because you’re on the podium. So you’re talking full circle. I started in this seat and ended up pretty much in this seat.

He came to power at the same time Governor L. Douglas Wilder moved into the executive mansion. “It was very historic. … So that was an interesting opening for me,” he says.

Cox announced his candidacy for governor of Virginia in November 2020, but finished fourth of seven GOP candidates at the May 2021 party convention, ending his decades-long career in the state legislature. ASH DANIEL

Cox’s 16 terms saw him rise to roles of greater responsibility in the Republican Party of Virginia. When the House majority shifted to the GOP in 2000, the delegate’s minor committee assignments, by Philpott, to two conservation-minded panels were turned by Republican Chairman Vance Wilkins into a chairmanship on a combined mega-committee. “I’m still laughing because President Philpott would probably be rolling over in his grave if he knew I was chairing the committee.

His political star count has increased through his involvement in Republican governorship campaigns and administrations. Allen, Gilmore, and McDonnell, the last of whom was Cox’s seatmate in the legislature and a colleague he considered a close friend.

In November 2020, Cox announced his candidacy for governor of Virginia, an apparent next step for a man who had risen through the ranks of power and influence in the state’s GOP. He had served eight years as House Majority Leader before becoming Speaker. He was the only Republican candidate to concede the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election and failed to entice voters with more hyped stances on burning issues like parental choice in education. , masking policies and critical race theory. He finished fourth out of seven GOP candidates at the party convention, capping his career.

Now free from political pursuits, the former delegate plans to retain some, but not all, of the positions he holds on various boards, such as the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and he vaguely contemplates the possibility of teach again, maybe at the college level. . Since retiring from teaching in public schools, Cox notes, he has given guest lectures at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, Liberty University and Randolph-Macon College.

Among his plans, Cox expects one thing to remain constant, namely the habit of his involvement with his faith community, Heights Baptist Church in Colonial Heights, where he served as a deacon.

And he intends, for the moment, to stay away from state politics.

“I think you have to be careful,” he says. “I loved it, but I think once you step aside…the worst thing you can do is hang around. You know, we had delegates who retired, and they were up there , like every two weeks, apparently re-introduced. And I don’t want to be that person.

Kirk Cox’s term as president was cut short in 2020 when Democrats clawed back a majority in the House of Delegates in response to Republican President Donald J. Trump’s policies. PICTURES OF ASH DANIEL

In the week after state lawmakers honored his public office and unveiled a portrait of Cox above the dais in the House chamber, the former president had planned to attend a morning Bible study for lawmakers at the invitation of incoming House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. The president’s Bible session is a tradition Cox carried on from fellow Republican and mentor Del. William Howell, who preceded Cox as House Leader.

A native of Petersburg, Cox has never strayed from the Tri-City area or his conservative Christian faith — he practices prayer and scripture study daily. He spent his college years in the Shenandoah Valley after graduating from Colonial Heights High School in 1975. In 1979, he graduated from James Madison University with a double major in political science and social science. He also earned an associate’s degree in life sciences from Richard Bland College in 1981.

The year he started teaching at local public schools, he met his wife Julie – they both worked in the summer of 1982 at the Swift Creek Mill Theatre. They married in 1985 and had the eldest of four sons in 1991, Lane, followed by Carter, Blake and Cameron.

Of his offspring, his two youngest, Blake and Cameron, followed their father’s example in politics. Blake worked as a campaign manager for Del. Emily Brewer of Suffolk, and Cameron, a recent UVA graduate, worked for Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s transition team and now serves as a legislative aide for Del. Rob Bell who represents parts of several counties. in the Piedmont of Virginia.

Cameron Cox, who plans to go to law school next year, credits his father with being the major influence on his interest in government policy and political philosophy, topics they discuss almost every night after day where Cameron worked in the state legislature.

“He’s a confidante of mine and someone I love to sit with at the end of the night and have our long conversations about what’s going on in the House of Delegates,” Cameron says, “what’s going on goes on the national news or with the New York Yankees.

The youngest of the Cox boys notes his father’s consistency in attending almost all of his sons’ sporting events over the years, despite his work schedule and the commute time to a game or game. “I don’t think he’s missed a game all year… [Blake] played Division I volleyball in Connecticut.

Cameron also notes witnessing his father’s daily dedication to his spiritual practice at the kitchen table as he left home for school or work. “I always thought it was just the most amazing thing that without fail, without ever missing a single day, he starts his day in a truly divine way. … I always thought it was pretty amazing .¦