Tom Moss | |||||||||||||||
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| 52ndSpeaker of the VirginiaHouse of Delegates | |||||||||||||||
| In office November 19, 1991 – January 12, 2000 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ford C. Quillen (acting) | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Vance Wilkins | ||||||||||||||
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| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates | |||||||||||||||
| In office January 12, 1966 – January 1, 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Theodore C. Pilcher | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mark Cole | ||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||
| Born | Thomas Warren Moss Jr. (1928-10-03)October 3, 1928 | ||||||||||||||
| Died | November 26, 2015(2015-11-26) (aged 87) | ||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Norma Moss | ||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||
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| Military service | |||||||||||||||
| Branch/service | United States Army | ||||||||||||||
| Rank | First lieutenant | ||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | Korean War | ||||||||||||||
Thomas Warren Moss Jr. (October 3, 1928 – November 26, 2015) was an American politician, most recently serving as theCity Treasurer of Norfolk, a post to which he was elected in 2001. Prior to that, he served 36 years as aDemocratic member of theVirginia House of Delegates, and was itsSpeaker 1991–2000.
Moss received his bachelor's degree from theVirginia Polytechnic Institute. He served in theU.S. Army during theKorean War, attaining the rank offirst lieutenant. Afterward, he attended theUniversity of Richmond School of Law and set up a law office in his home town of Norfolk. He practiced law until his election as city treasurer in 2001.
As a member of theYoung Democratic Club of Norfolk, Moss was active in the 1960 presidential campaign ofJohn F. Kennedy.
In 1965 Moss ran for the Virginia House of Delegates as part of a racially mixed coalition of Democrats opposed to the pro-segregation state Democraticpolitical machine ofU.S. SenatorHarry Flood Byrd, Sr. Running under the campaign slogan "get Norfolk out of the Byrd cage," Moss won his first election.
In 1980, when SpeakerJohn Warren Cooke retired,House majority leaderA. L. Philpott succeeded him and Moss was chosen as majority leader. Philpott, whose endorsement ofDouglas Wilder's 1985 campaign forlieutenant governor helped pave the way for his election asgovernor in 1989, died of cancer in September 1991, shortly after announcing his retirement. Moss was elected Speaker on November 11, 1991.
Moss served one term as Speaker with a Democratic governor and state senate majority. Wilder was succeeded by two Republican governors,George Allen andJim Gilmore, and the Senate passed into Republican hands in 1997. Democrats technically held a one-vote majority in the 1997–98 session; in fact the House was split 50-50, since the one independent member,Lacey Putney, caucused with the Republicans. Finally in 1999, Republicans won outright control of the House. Moss chose not to serve asminority leader in the next session, ceding the job to the previous majority leader,C. Richard Cranwell.
Republicans had complete control of the Virginiaredistricting process following the 2000 census. Moss' House district, the 88th, was eliminated (though his district number was moved to theFredericksburg area). Most of its territory was merged with the neighboring 89th district, a majority African-American district represented by an African-American,Jerrauld Jones. Moss chose instead to run for city treasurer, replacing the retiringJoseph T. Fitzpatrick, a former state senator and state Democratic Party chair. Moss won election with 56% of the vote.[1]
Four years later, Moss faced an internal challenge for the Democratic nomination, where concerns were expressed about his age and health. Moss chose instead to run as an independent, winning the reelection with 45% of the vote in a four-way race with three African-American opponents.[2] He died on November 26, 2015, in Greenville, South Carolina, from a heart attack.[3]
