Whittington W. Clement

Whitt Clement
10th Virginia Secretary of Transportation
In office
January 14, 2002 – April 1, 2005
GovernorMark Warner
Preceded byShirley Ybarra
Succeeded byPierce Homer
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 20th district
In office
January 13, 1988 – January 9, 2002
Preceded byKenneth E. Calvert
Succeeded byChris Saxman
Personal details
Born (1947-11-15) November 15, 1947 (age 76)
Danville, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMargaret Clay Irby
EducationUniversity of Virginia (BA, JD)

Whittington Whiteside "Whitt" Clement (born November 15, 1947) is a Virginia lawyer and Democratic politician who served seven terms in the Virginia House of Delegates (1988–2002) and also became the Virginia Secretary of Transportation under Governor Mark Warner.[1][2]

Born in Danville, Clement attended the local City of Danville public schools and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia during the Commonwealth's Massive Resistance crisis. He then received both his undergraduate and legal degrees from the University of Virginia (as well as a distinguished student award in 1970 and a Raven Award) before clerking with U.S. District Judge John A. MacKenzie in Norfolk.

Clement then established a private legal practice in Danville. He also became active in the local Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce, Danville Estate Planning Council, Virginia Bar association (eventually serving a term as president), and Virginia's State Council of Higher Education (1985–1987)

In 1987, Clement defeated veteran Republican Kenneth E. Calvert for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing part of Pittsylvania County and the City of Danville, and won re-election many times to that part-time position.

In 2001, Clement sought the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of Virginia but placed third in the primary behind Donald McEachin and John Edwards. McEachin would go on to lose the general election to Republican Jerry Kilgore in the same year.[3][4][5][6]

In 2003, the Virginia Bar Association honored him with its Distinguished Service Award.[6] After retiring from the legislature, Clement continued his legal practice Clement & Wheatley, LLC, and later became a special counsel with Hunton Andrews Kurth, with a practice focused on government affairs and lobbying.[7]

  1. ^ Shear, Michael D. (March 8, 2005). "Va. Transportation Secretary To Leave for Private Sector". The Washington Post. p. B04. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Bruce Jamerson, The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1982-1995 (Richmond, Commonwealth of Virginia 1996) p. 147
  3. ^ "Whittington W. Clement Age: 53 ..." The Washington Post. May 30, 2001. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  4. ^ Timberg, Craig (May 31, 2001). "On Issues, Hopefuls Look to Loyal Voters". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  5. ^ Scanlon, Terry (June 4, 2001). "Attorney General Candidates Relatively Unknown In Area". Daily Press. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "VBA honors Stolle, Warner, life members". Virginia Lawyers Weekly. July 30, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Whittington W. Clement".