Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Director's Correspondence and Subject Files, 1971-1982 (bulk 1976-1981)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Creator:
Virginia Secretary of Public Safety
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Contains a variety of correspondence and subject files relating to the agencies and boards that were under the supervision of the Secretary of Public Safety. Files include those related to activities of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Department of Corrections, and the State Police. The records also include fire safety inspections, state and federal legislation files, budget and capital outlay documents, and records on a variety of other public safety-related topics. Most of the material is in the form of correspondence, memorandums, and reports.

Biographical / historical:

In 1970, the Governor's Management Commission Study recommended the creation of six "Deputy Governors" to assist the Chief Executive in his managerial duties. Compatible functions of government were grouped under these administrative heads, who would serve as the Governors top management team or "secretariats," as they are called now. Governor Linwood Holton's top priority for the 1972 session of the General Assembly was a proposal for a Governor's Cabinet, reorganizing state agencies into six major departments, each headed by a secretary appointed by the governor. Transportation and public safety was one of these six departments. The office of Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was created on April 8, 1972, by an act passed by the General Assembly.

Governor Holton appointed Wayne A. Whitham, a member of the Winchester City Council, as the first Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety. Secretary Whitham took office on July 1, 1972, and was responsible for State Highway Commission, Divsion of Motor Vehicles, Department of State Police, Highway Safety Division, Office of Emergency Services, Department of Military Affairs, Virginia State Crime Commission and the Law Enforcement Officers Training Standards Commission. The Office has undergone a series of administrative reorganizations since. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature established separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety, effective July 1, 1976.

Wayne A. Whitham, the first Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety, was reappointed by Governor-elect Miles E. Godwin, Jr., in December 1973. On June 10, 1976, Governor Godwin appointed H. Selwyn Smith, a former Prince William County commonwealth's attorney (1960-1968) and former state senator (1972-1975), as the first Secretary of Public Safety. Smith was reappointed by Governor-elect John N. Dalton in December 1977. Smith resigned effective July 1, 1980 after he was appointed judge of the 31st Judicial Circuit of Virginia. Governor Dalton named T. Rodman Layman, an Alcoholic Beverage and Control Board Commissioner (1970-1980), to succeed Smith as Secretary of Public Safety. Layman served until the end of Dalton's term in January 1982.

Acquisition information:
Accession 31516 transferred by Audrey B. Burton, Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, Ninth Street Office Building, Richmond, Va., 7 October 1982.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into the one series:

  • Director's Correspondence and Subject Files, 1971-1982 (bulk 1976-1981)

The original order of this material during its use is unknown. Whether the current physical order is indeed the original order, remains undetermined as well. There is no readily apparent series structure or other arrangement method. The physical arrangement of this collection has been maintained, but arrangement in the finding aid is alphabetical by folder title.

Physical description:
35 cu. ft. (35 boxes)