GLOUCESTER – Gloucester native Sherwood Bowditch, who traces his local roots back for generations, recently announced that he has filed papers with the Board of Elections to run for the Republican nomination for the 98th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Bowditch seeks to replace longtime Delegate Harvey Morgan, who is retiring after more than three decades in the General Assembly. Bowditch served as Del. Morgan’s legislative aide in the 2000 General Assembly session.
"Harvey Morgan has been a trusted and valued friend and leader to our community and he will be missed as an elected representative. In fact, he was called ‘the conscience of the General Assembly’ by more than a few people," Bowditch said. "That’s why as Del. Morgan leaves public office, it is imperative that he be replaced by someone with deep ties to the Middle Peninsula, a friend of the Chesapeake Bay and someone who can bring a principled approach to government. I firmly believe I am that candidate."
Bowditch, 35, is the great grandson of a Seaford waterman and will be a dependable voice for the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay. Knowing that a clean environment and economic growth are not mutually exclusive, Bowditch notes that the gradual environmental damage to the Bay has resulted in the loss of approximately 50,000 Virginia jobs.
"When I was a kid there was a working waterman marina on Wilson creek," Bowditch recalled. "By the time I was a teenager all of the boats were gone. That marina and hundreds like it died as the oyster and crab populations died. Aside from the tragedy of the loss of a unique way of life, think of the jobs lost – from the waterman all the way to the person driving the truck to the packing house."
Bowditch will also focus on the role of government in fostering an environment in which private enterprise can prosper and create economic growth – an issue of vital importance to a rural area like the 98th District. A main priority as Delegate will be to be the chief economic salesman for the Middle Peninsula, as well as to help craft policies that respect personal property rights and keep taxes low.
"I believe in the free market," Bowditch said. "Individuals and businesses meeting in the market to exchange goods and services are the best producers of economic and social justice. Business owners who take risks and create jobs are vital to our community and state."
Bowditch, a longtime leader, activist and advocate for the Boys & Girls Club, will also be a strong voice in the legislature on issues that affect the current young and future generations of Virginians.
"I believe in community," Bowditch said. "In the 1840s a writer named Alexis De Toqueville observed that when Americans face a problem, they band together in voluntary associations to solve the problems as private citizens. I believe that our responsibility to our fellow man is personal and best exercised by working together."
Sherwood H. Bowditch, born to John and Peggy Bowditch of Gloucester, grew up on the shores of Mobjack Bay. He is a commercial insurance agent for the Morgan Marrow Company, based in Hampton. A former chairman of the Middle Peninsula chapter of Ducks Unlimited, Bowditch grew up hunting near and fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. An enthusiastic entrepreneur even as a child – including dock building, crab selling and landscaping – he ever since has been a respected leader in the business community.
A strong believer in the support of young people and a leader for the Boys & Girls Clubs in the Middle Peninsula, Bowditch was instrumental in opening the Gloucester branch of the organization and helped raise much-needed funding through generous donations. A dual political science and economics major from Hampden-Sydney College, he lettered in football all four years and served as an advisor for the Honor Council.
As currently drawn, the 98th House of Delegates district includes Essex, Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex Counties and parts of King and Queen and King William Counties.
Paid for and authorized by Friends of Sherwood H. Bowditch
Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia