Rob Bell (Virginia politician)

Robert Bernard Bell III (born April 23, 1967) is an American politician. He has been a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2002. In 2013, Bell ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Attorney General of Virginia.

Rob Bell
Rob Bell in 2005
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 58th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2002
Preceded byPaul Clinton Harris
Personal details
Born
Robert Bernard Bell III

(1967-04-23) April 23, 1967
Palo Alto, California, US
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Jessica Rhea Sweeney
ResidenceAlbemarle County, Virginia
Alma materUniversity of Virginia (B.A., J.D.)
ProfessionLawyer
CommitteesCourts of Justice; Health, Welfare and Institutions; Privileges and Elections
Websitewww.delegaterobbell.com

Early life and education

Bell was born in Palo Alto, California on April 23, 1967.[1][2][3][4]

Game designer

Bell worked as a convention volunteer and part-time intern for Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) while attending classes at the University of Virginia, and began working for ICE full-time as an editor in 1988.[5]:147 Bell expanded and unified the Hero System from Hero Games, licensed by ICE.[5]:136 The fourth edition of the role-playing game Champions (1989) was largely the work of Bell; aside from writing the book, he had also coordinated a volunteer effort with dozens of gaming groups to give input and feedback on the Hero System.[5]:148 Bell left ICE in 1990, and later entered politics.[5]:149

Virginia House of Delegates

Election

Bell was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2001, representing the 58th district in the Virginia Piedmont, including Greene County and parts of Albemarle, Fluvanna and Rockingham Counties.[6] Bell's seat was previously held by Thomas Jefferson.[7]

Abortion

In 2012, Bell voted in favor of a bill requiring all women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound prior to having an abortion, except in cases of rape and incest, wherein police reports must be presented.[8][9] While hundreds of people participated in a silent protest outside the Virginia state capitol, Bell, as the bill's patron, postponed a vote on the bill, which passed the next day.[10] On March 1, 2012, Bell voted in favor of an amended version of the bill requiring women to undergo a transabdominal ultrasound prior to an abortion if written consent for a transvaginal ultrasound is not obtained, and no ultrasound at all if the physician deems it impossible to determine fetal age through the prescribed means.[11][12]

Citizenship inquiries

During the 2012 legislative session, Bell was the primary sponsor of a bill requiring police to inquire into the citizenship of anyone arrested, regardless of criminal charges. The bill was widely criticized by civil rights organizations and failed to pass.[13]

Education

In 2012 and 2013, Bell patroned the "Tebow Bill", named for Tim Tebow, which would allow homeschooled students meeting academic standards the opportunity to participate in public school sports teams and other extracurricular activities.[14]

Public safety

As of 2013, Bell serves as the chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission.[15]

In 2006, Bell proposed legislation to bar violent sex offenders from school property, following public outrage over a convicted sex offender serving as a Santa Claus at an elementary school.[16] In 2012, he proposed a bill expanding this ban to cover school buses and school-affiliated events.[17]

In 2008, Bell proposed legislation to require school superintendents to screen job applicants for a history of child abuse convictions in Virginia and other states, as well as criminalize the misrepresentation of an applicant's offender status.[18]

Property rights

Bell sponsored a legislatively referred constitutional amendment seeking to reform eminent domain in Virginia. The effort was initiated in part as a reaction to a 2005 US Supreme Court decision upholding the right of the government to seize property for economic development. The Virginia General Assembly approved the amendment in 2011, and then-Governor Bob McDonnell endorsed it. The proposed amendment was placed on the November 6, 2012, ballot as a statewide referendum, where it was approved.[19][20]

Attorney General campaigns

On December 6, 2011, Bell announced that he was a candidate for the 2013 Republican nomination for Attorney General of Virginia.[21] State Senator Mark Obenshain won the nomination over Bell by a 55%–45% margin at a statewide convention in Richmond on May 18, 2013.[22]

On December 3, 2015, Bell announced he would run again for the Republican nomination for Attorney General in the 2017 election, and vowed to oust incumbent Mark Herring, whom he cast as a liberal crusader with no regard for the law.[23] However, on November 21, 2016, Bell abruptly announced that he was ending his campaign because his children, one of whom has special needs, were facing "new challenges" and stated, "Despite my best efforts, it has become clear to me that I can’t possibly fulfill my responsibilities as a father while making a statewide run."[24] He announced that he would return donations made to his attorney general campaign, and would run for re-election to his House seat.[24]

Electoral history
DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 58th district
Nov 6, 2001[25] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 13,627 59.95
Charles S. Martin Democratic 9,088 39.98
Write Ins 17 0.07
Paul Clinton Harris retired; seat stayed Republican
Nov 4, 2003[26] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 13,267 98.64
Write Ins 183 1.36
Nov 8, 2005[27] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 15,831 62.04
Stephen H. Koleszar Democratic 9,676 37.92
Write Ins 11 0.04
Nov 6, 2007[28] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 16,220 98.30
Write Ins 280 1.69
Nov 3, 2009[29] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 18,402 67.24
Cynthia Neff Democratic 8,948 32.69
Write Ins 16 0.05
Nov 8, 2011[30] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 17,227 98.20
Write Ins 315 1.79
Nov 5, 2013[31] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 20,191 95.78
Write Ins 890 4.22
Nov 3, 2015[32] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 13,926 96.44
Write Ins 514 3.56
Nov 7, 2017[33] General Robert B. Bell III Republican 18,652 61.20
Kellen Squire Democratic 11,797 38.71
Write Ins 27 0.08
gollark: It's not like collections of bee neurons emulating human minds aren't "real people".
gollark: This seems like something I might make ironically.
gollark: ++search winimage 10
gollark: ++remind "2021-12-31 23:58" emergency procedure zeta
gollark: ++remind 01/01/2022 base-ipa

References
  1. "Bio for Robert B. Bell". Virginia House of Delegates. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  2. Virginia House of Delegates Manual, 2018–2019. Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. 2018. p. 95. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  3. "Robert Bell III's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  4. "Bell, Rob B III". The Virginia Elections and State Elected Officials Database Project, 1776-2007. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  5. Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702- 58-7.
  6. "Virginia House of Delegates; Robert B. Bell". Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  7. Morgan, Anne Marie. "Delegate Rob Bell Running for Virginia Attorney General". www.wvtf.org. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  8. "Virginia HB 462 - Requires an ultrasound prior to an abortion - Key Vote - Project Vote Smart". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  9. "HB 462 Requires an ultrasound prior to an abortion - Voting Record - Virginia House - Project Vote Smart". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  10. "Silent protest outside, Virginia house puts off ultrasound vote". MSNBC. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  11. Provence, Lisa (March 3, 2012). "30 arrests: Ultrasound protest brings riot police to Capitol". The Hook. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  12. "LIS > Bill Tracking - Amendment > HB462 > 2012 Session".
  13. Hester, Wesley P. (February 10, 2012). "Illegal immigration bills likely to advance". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  14. Baxter, Paige (February 11, 2013). "'Tebow Bill' passes in House, awaits action in Senate". Loudoun Times. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  15. Commonwealth of Virginia. "Virginia State Crime Commission". Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  16. Boniti, Loretta (December 12, 2006). "Bill Bans Sex Offenders from School Property". NBC29. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  17. Quattlebaum, Jillian (February 20, 2011). "Assembly Tightens Sex Offender Laws". VCU Capital News Service. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  18. "House Passes Bell's Teacher Background Check Bill". Newsplex. February 8, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  19. "Virginia Eminent Domain Amendment, Question 1 (2012)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  20. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/mcdonnell-signs-off-on-property-rights-referendum/2012/04/06/gIQAChHqzS_blog.html
  21. Moomaw, Graham (2011-12-06). "Bell makes bid for AG official". Charlottesville Daily Progress. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  22. Pershing, Ben and Errin Whack (2013-05-18). "Va. GOP settles on Cuccinelli, Obenshain and Jackson for November ballot". Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  23. Republican Rob Bell vows to oust Herring as Va. attorney general
  24. Times-Dispatch, GRAHAM MOOMAW Richmond. "Del. Rob Bell ends campaign for Virginia attorney general". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  25. "General Election- November 6, 2001". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  26. "General Election- November 4, 2003". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  27. "General Election- November 8, 2005". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  28. "November 6, 2007 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  29. "November 2009 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  30. "November 2011 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  31. "November 2013 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  32. "November 2015 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  33. "November 2017 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
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