Todd Gilbert, class of 1993 College alumnus and Republican Delegate for the Virginia House of Delegates, was unanimously elected speaker of the House Jan. 12, the first day of the 2022 General Assembly session. Considered the most powerful member of the House, the speaker serves as the chief presiding officer and determines committee chairs and members.
Gilbert graduated from the University with a degree in government. He succeeds Democratic Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, who now serves as the minority leader in the House of Delegates. Currently, Republicans hold 52 seats and Democrats hold the remaining 48.
With 60.83 percent of the vote share in 2005, Gilbert joined the House of Delegates for its 2006 session and began a 17-year career representing the 15th District, which includes the counties of Page and Shenandoah as well as portions of Rockingham and Warren in northwestern Virginia.
Gilbert’s official website lists six issues as most important to him — jobs and the economy, protecting the Second Amendment, public safety, fighting for healthcare freedom, energy and the environment and protecting life.
Gilbert currently serves as the Chair of the Rules Committee — which is made up of 18 Delegates, 13 of whom are Republican and five of whom are Democrats — as well as a member of the Joint Rules Committee and the Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel.
During the 2021 regular session of the Virginia House of Delegates, Gilbert participated in 99 percent of floor votes taken, including 290 close votes — a roll call in which the opposition makes up one-third of those casting a ballot or greater. When casting a vote, Gilbert voted with the Republican caucus 85 percent of the time and with at least two-thirds of his regional delegation — in this case a set of regions that lie outside Virginia's densely populated, faster-growing corridor and are typically more rural — 86 percent of the time.
Gilbert sponsored three pieces of legislation during the 2021 regular session. One bill looked to reverse a change to the Acts of Assembly passed in 2020 which allowed individuals qualified to register to vote to do so at any point until — and including on — election day, regardless of registration records.
Gilbert’s second notable piece of sponsored legislation would have required general registrars to review all affirmation statements on absentee ballots and ensure that the signature provided matches that on the ballot application. Currently, the Virginia Department of Elections does not match ballot signatures to any other signature on file. Both pieces of legislation died during the session.
The 2022 regular session will end March 12.
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