Whittington Whiteside "Whitt" Clement (born November 15, 1947) is a Virginia lawyer and Democratic politician who served seven terms in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

(1988–2002) and also became the Virginia Secretary of Transportation under Governor

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...

. Born in Danville, Clement attended the local City of Danville public schools and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia during the Commonwealth's Massive Resistance crisis. He then received both his undergraduate and legal degrees from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

(as well as a distinguished student award in 1970 and a Raven Award) before clerking with U.S. District Judge John A. MacKenzie in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Clement then established a private legal practice in Danville. He also became active in the local Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce, Danville Estate Planning Council, Virginia Bar association (eventually serving a term as president), and Virginia's State Council of Higher Education (1985–1987) In 1987, Clement defeated veteran Republican Kenneth E. Calvert for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing part of

Pittsylvania County Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 60,501. The county seat is Chatham. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical ...

and the City of Danville, and won re-election many times to that part-time position. In 2001, Clement sought the Democratic nomination for

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an Executive (government), executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a United State ...

but placed third in the primary behind

Donald McEachin Aston Donald McEachin ( ; October 10, 1961 – November 28, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district from 2017 until his death in 2022. His district was based in ...

and

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

. McEachin would go on to lose the general election to Republican Jerry Kilgore in the same year. In 2003, the

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It pro ...

honored him with its Distinguished Service Award. After retiring from the legislature, Clement continued his legal practice Clement & Wheatley, LLC, and later became a special counsel with

Hunton Andrews Kurth Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, formerly known as Hunton & Williams LLP and commonly known as Hunton, is an American law firm. The firm adopted its current name on April 2, 2018, when it merged with Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP. Andrews Kurth Kenyon p ...

, with a practice focused on government affairs and lobbying.

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* 1947 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People associated with Hunton Andrews Kurth Politicians from Danville, Virginia State cabinet secretaries of Virginia University of Virginia alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia) alumni {{Virginia-delegate-stub