Portions of the Subject Files are restricted from public access for 75 years per Code of Virginia 42.1-78. Restricted information in this collection has been sealed but not removed from the collection. The specific material that has been closed is noted in the Contents List of this guide.
There are no restrictions.
Marian Van Landingham Papers, 1979-2010. Accession 42474. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Gift of Marian Van Landingham, Alexandria.
Marian Van Landingham was born in Albany, Georgia on 10 September 1937. She graduated from Druid Hills High School in Atlanta in 1955, and then studied political science at Emory University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1959 and a master's degree in 1960. Van Landingham worked in public relations, and in 1967 she moved to Arlington County, Virginia to take a position as an information specialist at the National Air Pollution Agency, a forerunner to the Environmental Protection Agency. She then served as a press aide to Rep. Phil Landrum (D-GA). In 1972, Van Landingham moved to Alexandria. She was also president of the Art League, and became involved in efforts to restore the vacant torpedo plant and turn it into studio space for Alexandria area artists. Van Landingham ran for City Council in 1979, but was defeated by only 800 votes. In 1981, she waged a succesful campaign for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, and began a career in the General Assembly that would continue for 23 years. She was the first woman to chair the Privileges and Elections Committee, and by the time she retired, she was the most senior woman serving in the House. In 2005, Van Landingham decided not to run for re-election due to health concerns. She continues to maintain her studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, and is involved in various philanthropic and humanitarian activities in Alexandria.
Papers, 1979-2006, of Marian Van Landingham (b. 1937) of Alexandria, Virginia, who represented the 45th District in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1982 to 2005. Includes legislative files, subject files, "white" files, and campaign files.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
The legislative files include drafts and final copies of bills, resolutions, and budget amendments introduced by Van Landingham, correspondence with constituents, fellow legislators, advocacy groups, and government officials, background materials, clippings, notes, memoranda, summaries, legal opinions, roll call votes, and impact statements. There are also patron and co-patron reports generated by the House Clerk which give summmaries, dates, and actions taken by the General Assemby on legislation introduced or co-sponsored by Van Landingham. Areas of interest reflected in the legislation she introduced include consumer services protection, election laws, funding for the arts, gun control, historic preservation, parental leave, parole eligibility, spousal abuse and rape crisis centers, telecommunications, tenant rights, and youth programs. There is only a small amount of material for 1993, and none for 1994, 1996, and 1998.
Arranged chronologically by year.
The subject files include awards and certificates, biographical information, newsletters, office files, photographs, press releases, programs, scrapbooks, and other materials. There are a large number of clippings, mostly from Alexandria newspapers, documenting Van Landingham's legislative activities, appearances at local events, campaign and election coverage, local and state politics, and columns written by her regarding specific issues facing the General Assembly. There are also newspaper stories relating to her involvement with the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria. In addition, the subject files contain a substantial amount of material relating to the Walt Disney Company's proposed theme park development in Prince William County, the improvement and replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and redistricting of House of Delegates and Senate seats and congressional districts in Virginia in 1991. Van Landingham's interests in parole eligibility, sentencing guidelines, and prison conditions are also reflected in the subject files. There is a information on Suzanne (Sue) S. Kennon, an inmate at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland, Virginia, and her parole requests and appeals, and the related subjects of the application of the 1982 Virginia "three-time-loser law," and the children of incarcerated women. There are also materials related to the conditions at VCCW, as well as materials from other inmates there, and at other facilities, regarding their specific cases. Arranged alphabetically.
The "white" files cover the years 1982 to 1987 and 1992, and are copies of outgoing letters from Van Landingham's office. They are arrranged by year, and thereunder alphabetical by last name of the recipient.
The campaign files cover Van Landingham's race for Alexandria City Council in 1979, and her subsequent campaigns for the Virginia House of Delegates. They include campaign literature, meeting information, planning and budgeting files, clippings, contributions and financial reports, events and fundraisers, mailings, polling data, precinct maps, volunteer lists and other materials.