2001 General Assembly — Legislators to Watch

Delegate John A. "Jack" Rollison III,
R-Woodbridge,
is the Assembly's transportation point man and an influential Republican who considers the House of Delegates capable of setting its own agenda. "When we were in the minority, we were part of the George Allen administration, foot soldiers in the Allen revolution. Now that we're in the majority, we are a co-equal branch of government." Rollison proved that last year when he retooled the governor's transportation package to help his region's funding needs. As co-chair of the House Transportation Committee and a representative from one of the fastest-growing areas of the state, Rollison will guide whatever gains Northern Virginia makes in road and transit funding this year. He also expects to play some defense protecting the incremental funding step the state took last year. Transportation funds might make a tempting target for helping finance popular tax relief and budget pressures.