The announced resignation of Terrie Suit in the 81st district has the phones buzzing. Although Suit has already endorsed announced candidate Barry D. Knight, his election is far from assured. Virginia Beach sheriff Paul Lanteigne has expressed an interest in the seat. Lanteigne is considering a run as either a Republican or as an independent. If he chooses the latter, I am told that he plans to caucus with the Republicans.
In the meantime, another name has surfaced for the Republican nomination. CAPT Tom Keeley, the former commander of NAS Oceana, is said to be interested. I know next to nothing about Keeley but given his military background, I suspect he would be a formidable opponent in this district.
Despite the comments of Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, so far I have not come across a name for a Democratic candidate in the 81st. There was talk of Lanteigne perhaps running as a Democrat but my Republican sources seem to think that is not the case.
The date for the special election has not been set but rumor has it that it will be December 16.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Hey Vivian! I heard most of the same rumors as yourself, save one.
The rumor I heard from a pretty reliable source was that Paul Lanteigne wouldn’t caucus with either party if he was an independent. Guess if we can’t get him to go Dem, it’s the next best thing, wouldn’t you think? IT’d be pretty hard for the 81st to go Dem, personally, I’d like to think we wouldn’t even bother if Lanteigne was running. He’s as close as we’re going to get. Let us know if you hear more on Keeley, don’t know much about this guy…
D – since I wrote this, I’ve heard the same thing about Lanteigne not caucusing with either side if he runs as an I. Yes, the 81st is a tough district for Dems.
If I hear anything else on Keeley, I’ll be sure to post 😉