THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 21, 1995 TAG: 9504210501
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Porter Hardy Jr., 91, a Democrat who represented Virginia's 2nd District in the House of Representatives for 22 years, died Wednesday in his home.
``He was one of the finest public servants this state has ever known,'' said former Lt. Gov. Richard J. Davis of Portsmouth.
Hardy ``always gave his best without any regard for his own rewards,'' Davis said. ``I and the rest of the state will miss him.''
Hardy, of the 3100 block of Shore Drive, was born in Bon Air, a Richmond suburb. He was the son of the late Rev. Porter Hardy, a Methodist minister, and Jane Mahood Hardy.
Hardy was a graduate of Randolph-Macon College and attended Harvard Business School.
He was a farmer in old Norfolk County when he first challenged a congressman he considered ineffective. Although the incumbent was backed by the then-powerful Sen. Harry Byrd Sr., Hardy won the party primary and the election. He went on to represent the 2nd District from 1947 to 1969, when he retired.
``He won his seat by going to the people of the 2nd District,'' recalled former Lt. Gov. Henry Howell Jr. of Norfolk.
Although he came to office when the Byrd organization was the dominant force in Virginia politics, Hardy was independent of the strong influence Byrd had over the Democratic Party.
``He didn't go along with the system,'' Howell said. In doing so, ``He made quite a contribution to good government. . . . He was one of the best congressman we had in my opinion. He'll be missed.''
Over the years, as he became an increasingly important member of the House Armed Services Committee, Hardy maintained a cordial relationship with Byrd and other organization members.
But Hardy was considered more of a ``national Democrat,'' and his political distance from Byrd contributed to an aura of independence.
``He was not one of the isolationists, and, to a mild extent, he supported domestic change,'' James Sweeney, a historian at Old Dominion University, said of Hardy in an interview three years ago.
Looking back on Hardy's career Thursday, Sweeney said the evidence of the former congressman's independence from Byrd can be seen in his voting record.
In 1965, for instance, Byrd cast only 15 percent of his votes in support of President Lyndon B. Johnson while Hardy supported the Democratic president 54 percent of the time.
``That gives you an idea that Hardy was very loyal to the president,'' Sweeney said. And that backing did not hurt Hardy at home, even though Virginia was not a hotbed of support for Johnson's ``Great Society'' brand of politics.
The people at home ``kept re-electing him time after time after time,'' Sweeney said. Thus, Hardy ``was a fixture there for 22 years.''
Hardy did not always carry the national party banner, however. In 1963, for instance, Hardy said he would vote against President Kennedy's civil rights proposals because, ``I cannot believe we need this or any additional civil rights legislation.''
His opposition to civil rights efforts softened with time, however. In an interview three years ago, he said, ``I have no problem with it now.'' He noted that the world of Southern politics was vastly different when he served in Congress.
At the time ``I don't reckon anybody in Virginia could have voted for them,'' he said of civil rights bills.
``He was a splendid man; a first-rate congressman,'' said former U.S. Sen. William B. Spong of Portsmouth. ``I don't believe the people, even in this district, appreciate the clout he developed in his last years'' in Congress.
Spong said Hardy watched over the public purse when it came to military procurement. ``He made an awful lot of manufacturers toe the line'' on government contracts, Spong said. ``He did a first-rate job of that.''
Hardy is survived by his wife, Lynn Moore Hardy of Virginia Beach; a daughter, Lynn Hardy Yeakel of Rosemont, Pa., who was the 1992 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be conducted at 3 p.m. Saturday in Centenary United Methodist Church in Portsmouth. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Porter Hardy Jr.: He made ``quite a contribution to good
government,'' said Henry Howell.
by CNB