Arranged by series.
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Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, Constituent correspondence, 1993. Accession 34588, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Accession 34588 was transferred by Gov. Lawrence Douglas Wilder, January 14, 1994.
Original folder titles have been retained.
Lawrence Douglas Wilder was born in Richmond, Va., on January 17, 1931. He graduated from Virginia Union University in 1951 and afterwards was drafted into the Army, where he served in the Korean War from 1952-1953 and received a bronze star. He then attended the Howard University School of Law and graduated in 1959. Douglas Wilder was elected to the Virginia Senate in 1969 as the first African American member since Reconstruction and served in the Senate for five terms. In 1985, he was elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor as the first African American to be elected to statewide office in Virginia. L. Douglas Wilder won the election for Governor of Virginia in 1989 and served from January 13, 1990 to January 14, 1994. He was the first African American to be elected as Governor in United States.
The Office of Constituent Affairs was first established in 1984 to serve as a liaison between the Governor and the citizens of the Commonwealth. The Office oversees and coordinates responses to all mail sent to the Governor's Office. Constituent Affairs staff determine where and under whose signature the responses should be drafted and direct correspondence to the appropriate person in the administration. The Office also answers phone inquiries from constituents and occasionally meets with constituents to resolve problems and handle requests. William R. Browning served as Director of Constituent Affairs during the Wilder Administration.
Constituent Correspondence, 1993, is housed in 24 boxes and consists of letters received by Governor Wilder from citizens, public officials, and various organizations. Correspondence in this series usually includes an accompanying Response Referral Form, and an attached copy of the response from the Governor or the appropriate Secretary, state agency, or Governor's Office staff member. The Response Referral Form includes date received, topic, to whom the letter is referred, and instructions. Constituent correspondence includes invitations, requests for assistance, and statements of concern or inquiries on a variety of issues. Constituent correspondence also includes limited correspondence from federal and state agencies, local government officials, Virginia General Assembly members, members of the U.S. Congress, and others, including the U.S. President, governors of other states, and ambassadors.
Constituent Correspondence, 1993, is divided into three series: Series I. Cabinet Secretaries and State Agencies; Series II. Governor's Office; and Series III. Scheduling Office. Correspondence is arranged by topic and includes mail on a variety of subjects, including administration initiatives and specific legislative actions. Also includes mail from habitual writers, and mass mailings, which often consist of form letters and signed petitions.
Some topics of interest to constituents in 1993 include cigarette taxes, a comprehensive plan for mental health, the Violent Crime Initiative, and Worker's Compensation (SB 908).
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Cabinet Secretaries and State Agencies correspondence, is housed in 13 boxes and is arranged alphabetically by Cabinet Secretary, and alphabetically by topic or state agency within each Secretarial area. This series includes correspondence received by the Governor's Office that was directed to Cabinet Secretaries or state agencies for response. Includes original letter, Response Referral Form, and attached response.
Governor's Office correspondence, 1993, is housed in 11 boxes and is arranged alphabetically by topic. This series includes correspondence received by the Governor's Office that was answered by Governor Wilder or a member of his staff. Includes original letter, Response Referral Form, and attached response. Correspondence includes form letters, greetings, mass mailings, messages, appointment letters, congratulatory letters, resignation letters, sympathy letters, and thank you letters, as well as correspondence with various government officials and elected representatives, and correspondence from habitual writers.
Scheduling Office correspondence, 1993, is housed in 1 box and is arranged chronologically. This series includes invitations to attend and requests for appearances by Governor Wilder at various events, as well as attached letter of regret. These Scheduling Office records arrived with this transfer of Constituent Correspondence. For additional Scheduling Office records see Records of the Scheduling Office of Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, 1989-1994 (Accession 35539, 34185).