Tom Moss | |
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52nd Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates | |
In office November 19, 1991 – January 12, 2000 |
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Preceded by | A. L. Philpott |
Succeeded by | S. Vance Wilkins, Jr. |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 88th district |
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In office January 12, 1983 – January 1, 2002 |
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Preceded by | None (district created) |
Succeeded by | Mark L. Cole |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 37th district |
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In office January 13, 1982 – January 12, 1983 |
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Preceded by | Charles Hardaway Marks |
Succeeded by | Stephen E. Gordy |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 39th district |
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In office January 12, 1966 – January 13, 1982 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Thomas Warren Moss, Jr. October 3, 1928 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
Died | November 26, 2015 Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. |
(aged 87)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Norma Moss |
Alma mater |
Virginia Tech (B.S.) University of Richmond (LL.B.) |
Profession | Lawyer |
Thomas Warren "Tom" Moss, Jr. (October 3, 1928 – November 26, 2015) was an American politician, most recently serving as the City Treasurer of Norfolk, a post to which he was elected in 2001. Prior to that, he served 36 years as a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and was its Speaker 1991–2000.
Moss received his bachelor's degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War period, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. Afterward, he attended the University of Richmond School of Law and set up a law office in his home town of Norfolk. He practiced law until his election as city treasurer in 2001.
As a member of the Young Democratic Club of Norfolk, Moss was active in the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy.
In 1965 Moss ran for the Virginia House of Delegates as part of a racially mixed coalition of Democrats opposed to the pro-segregation state Democratic political machine of U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. Running under the campaign slogan "get Norfolk out of the Byrd cage," Moss won his first election.
In 1980, when Speaker John Warren Cooke retired, House majority leader A. L. Philpott succeeded him and Moss was chosen as majority leader. Philpott, whose endorsement of Douglas Wilder's 1985 campaign for lieutenant governor helped pave the way for his election as governor in 1989, died of cancer in September 1991, shortly after announcing his retirement. Moss was elected Speaker on November 11, 1991.