Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

These records are open for research but it may be necessary for an archivist to review certain files before they can be used by patrons for research purposes or before any copies of the records can be made. Privacy protected and other protected information is considered confidential and restricted from public access for 75 years. If you are planning to use these records, please contact Archives Reference Services for additional details before planning your research trip.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Constituent Correspondence of Virginia Governor George F. Allen, 1993-1998. Accession 35717, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

Transferred by Georgia Root, Assistant Secretary of the Commonwealth, Richmond, Virginia, 13 February 1998.

Biographical/Historical Information

The Office of Constituent Affairs was first established in 1984 to serve as a liaison between the Governor and the citizens of the Commonwealth. The office received and replied to mail directed to the Governor from citizens of the commonwealth, political officials, and organizations.

George Felix Allen was born March 8, 1952 in Whittier, California to famed NFL football coach George H. Allen and his wife Henrietta (Lumbroso) Allen. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1971 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1977. Allen served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1982-1991 and served a short term in the U.S. House of Delegates in the early 1990s. In November 1993, Allen beat Attorney General Mary Sue Terry to become Governor. Governor Allen served until January 1998 and was succeeded by Governor James S. Gilmore. Governor Allen has been married to Susan (Brown) Allen since 1986 and they have three children, Forrest, Tyler, and Brooke. The family resides in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Scope and Content

Contains correspondence from constituents to Governor George Allen and an attached copy of the response from the Governor or the appropriate Secretary or state department. The Office of Constituent Affairs handled the governor's constituent correspondence by directing the mail to the appropriate official(s) for response. The general correspondence found here contains invitations, requests for assistance, and inquiries about the Governor's stance on certain policy issues. Also included are letters from federal and state agencies, local government officials, Virginia General Assembly members, members of the U.S. Congress, and others, including the U.S. President, governors of other states and ambassadors. Files containing letters related to particular subjects such as the execution of Joseph O'Dell, opposition to a horse racing track in New Kent County, and those containing letters from a group of habitual writers can be found at the end of the general correspondence.

A smaller subsection of the constituent correspondence includes mail related to specific legislative actions. The legislative mail consists mainly of signed petitions and form letters, but also includes some correspondence. Legislative topics include: the Administrative License Revocation Law, parole abolition, regulation of registered dieticians, the Water Quality Monitoring and Restoration Act, patental notification, access to pollution permit decisions, seatbelt law, the Pharmacy Freedom Act, gun control, interstate waste, and the riverboat gambling referendum.

Arrangement

Constituent correspondence is divided into two sections: general correspondence and legislative correspondence. Each section is arranged in loose chronological order.