Longtime Delegate To Retire

Del. Kenneth R. Melvin (D-Portsmouth) announced today that he will retire from the House of Delegates after 24 years.

Melvin, one of the longest-serving members of the Courts of Justice Committee, is credited with defending civil rights and supporting the disadvantaged.

"Ken Melvin has one of the sharpest legal minds of anyone I've ever had the privilege to work with," House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry) said. "He has devoted his career to the equal and fair distribution of the law, and this House will not be the same without him."

Melvin, elected to the House in 1985, and represents parts of Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Norfolk.