Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 25, 1990 TAG: 9007250362
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PETER MATHEWS and ROB EURE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Long
Stafford ranked second in seniority among Republican members of the House, winning re-election 10 times after he unseated powerful Democrat Garnett Moore of Pulaski County in 1971.
Stafford was to receive the state Republican Party's John N. Dalton distinguished service award this weekend in Williamsburg.
"He was a fine legislator and lawyer and a true Virginian in every sense," said former Gov. Mills Godwin, who would have presented the award. "I am greatly saddened by his passing."
"He held a very steadfast philosophy of government and he didn't waver from it," said Del. Arthur R. "Pete" Giesen Jr., R-Waynesboro, one of Stafford's deskmates in the House.
"Yet, he had the knack of being well-liked even by those who disagreed with everything he thought. He could differ agreeably."
"He was one of a kind," said Donald Huffman, the state GOP chairman. "He had about the best sense of humor of anybody I know in politics. But behind that humor was a great intellect."
Stafford was born into a Democratic family and began his political activity in that party. He went to the 1968 Democratic National Convention as an alternate delegate.
"I remember sitting there in the gallery realizing that these people just don't think like I think," he told a reporter in 1984. "I said to myself, if these people knew how I felt about things, they would throw me out of here."
Vowing never to support another liberal for public office, Stafford quit the Democratic Party in 1969. He joined the GOP in 1971.
And he campaigned against those he considered liberals to the end. Last month, Stafford told 9th Congressional District Republicans that if Rep. Rick Boucher were in Britain's liberal Labor Party, the Abingdon Democrat would still be in the far left wing.
"Jeff was a man of extraordinary conviction and principle," said Republican Party Executive Director Joe Elton. "He was a fierce competitor."
"When you think of things like dedication, integrity, selflessness, that's just Jeff Stafford," said Del. Steve Agee, R-Salem.
Chester Jefferson Stafford was born in 1939. His father was commonwealth's attorney for 16 years; his grandfather served in the House of Delegates.
Stafford was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia, where he earned his law degree. He served in the Army in Korea as a company commander and later as a captain in the Army Reserve.
He worked for five years as a union member at the Celanese plant before entering politics.
Law and politics were intermingled throughout Stafford's career. His law partners included Charles B. Andrews Sr., who served in the House in the early 1960s, and J. Livingstone Dillow, who once ran for state attorney general on a ticket with Republican Ted Dalton.
No Republican had ever represented the Giles/Pulaski House district - the 5th - before Stafford's 1971 upset of Moore, an 18-year House veteran who was chairman of the Courts of Justice Committee.
Stafford represented Giles and a variety of neighboring counties in a district changed several times by redistricting - and usually included substantial traditionally Democratic turf. At times he represented residents of Craig, Montgomery, Carroll, Bland and Tazewell counties and Radford; the district now includes Giles, Bland and part of Tazewell.
Despite the changes in the district, Stafford was an eminently successful politician. His only defeat came in 1984, when he attempted to wrest away Boucher's congressional seat. Stafford was unopposed in 1985 and 1989 House of Delegates races.
Gov. Douglas Wilder will call a special election to fill Stafford's seat.
Stafford espoused a conservative, "hands-off" form of government. He introduced few pieces of legislation, explaining that keeping bad bills from becoming law was often more important than sponsoring your own measures.
One Stafford accomplishment was a bill that enabled Radford and Pulaski County to avoid a costly annexation fight in the late 1970s.
Stafford failed in an attempt to prohibit students who had not registered with the Selective Service from attending Virginia colleges. His bill made it out of the House in 1984 but died in the Senate.
He opposed the Equal Rights Amendment but supported a school-prayer amendment. But not every vote was a conservative one: In 1980, Stafford supported an increase in the gasoline tax that was intended to boost money for roads. And although he backed most anti-abortion legislation, he supported Medicaid funding of abortions for the poor in cases of rape and incest.
Stafford was a scratch golfer and was widely known as a tournament bridge player.
"He was such a terrific competitor," said Giesen. "Whether it was golf, bridge, politics or an issue on the floor of the House, he knew the name of the game was to win as long as you did it honorably."
Stafford's illness was no secret in Richmond during the last General Assembly session, but reporters respected his wishes that it not be publicized.
Survivors include his wife, the former Barbara Jo Morris; two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary; a stepson, Chris; and a sister, Betsy Elliott of Springfield.
His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the First United Methodist Church in Pearisburg, with burial in the Birchlawn Burial Park.
There will be a luncheon at the church after the services for out-of-town guests. The family suggests that donations go to the American Cancer Society.
by CNB