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 coordinates the issuance of certificates of recognition, 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.