Lacey Putney

{{Short description|American politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| birthname = Lacey Edward Putney

| name = Lacey Putney

| image = Delegate Putney 1988.png

| caption = Official portrait, 1980

| office = Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates

| term_label = Acting

| term_start = June 15, 2002

| term_end = January 8, 2003

| predecessor = Vance Wilkins

| successor = Bill Howell

| office1 = Member of the Virginia House of Delegates

| term_start1 = January 10, 1962

| term_end1 = January 8, 2014

| preceded1 = Charles E. Green Jr.

| succeeded1 = Terry Austin

| constituency1 = {{ubl|11th district (1962–1972)|9th district (1972–1983)|19th district (1983–2014)}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|6|27}}

| birth_place = Big Island, Virginia, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|8|26|1928|6|27}}

| death_place = Goode, Virginia, U.S.

| restingplace =

| party = Democratic (until 1967)

| otherparty = Independent (1967–2017){{efn|Putney caucused with state house Republicans from 1998 until his retirement.}}

| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Elizabeth Harlow|1951|August 30, 2005|reason=died}}|{{marriage|Carmela Bills
|2007}}}}

| children = 2

| education ={{Indented plainlist|

• Washington and Lee University (BA, LLB)}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Lawyer|politician}}

| signature = Lacey Putney signature.png

| branch = United States Air Force

| serviceyears = 1950–1954

| rank =

| unit =

| commands =

| battles = Korean War

| awards =

}}

Lacey Edward Putney (June 27, 1928 – August 26, 2017)[http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/lacey-putney-longest-serving-state-legislator-in-virginia-s-history/article_896cea32-41fd-586a-a7f1-ae836cce071b.html Lacey Putney, longest-serving state legislator in Virginia's history, dies at 89] was an American politician. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from January 1962 until January 2014, making him the longest-serving member in the history of the Virginia General Assembly and one of the longest-serving state legislators in American history. He represented a district centered around his hometown of Bedford for his entire career, and at various times represented parts of neighboring Bedford and Botetourt counties.

Putney, a lawyer from Bedford, was first elected as a Democrat in 1961. He left that party later in the decade and began running as an independent, although he caucused with the Republicans from 1998.{{cite news | last = Walker | first = Julian | title = Va. delegate ending legislative service after 5 decades | work = The Virginian-Pilot | date = 2013-03-27 | url = http://hamptonroads.com/2013/03/va-delegate-ending-legislative-service-after-5-decades | accessdate = 2013-05-08 | archive-date = 2013-06-03 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130603152535/http://hamptonroads.com/2013/03/va-delegate-ending-legislative-service-after-5-decades | url-status = dead }}

Putney announced in March 2013 that he would not run for reelection in 2013.{{cite news | title = Lacey Putney, longest-serving Va. lawmaker, to retire | publisher = Associated Press | work = Richmond Times-Dispatch | date = 2013-03-28 | url = http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/lacey-putney-longest-serving-va-lawmaker-to-retire/article_8f9c369b-9624-5158-8246-cc4f2a6a1748.html | accessdate = 2013-05-08}}