Del. G. Glenn Oder leaves Va. General Assembly for Fort Monroe Authority

By Austin Bogues, Daily Press
August 9, 2011

Del. G. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News, will resign from the House of Delegates effective Aug. 31 when he takes over as the new executive director of the Fort Monroe Authority.

"I've been a resident of the Peninsula my entire life," Oder said. "The opportunity to be part of the challenge to manage and revitalize a 400-year-old historic site like Fort Monroe is like nothing I could have ever imagined."

Oder, 54, is a landscape architect and owns a private consulting firm. When explaining complex concepts, he'll frequently draw on a scratch sheet of paper to provide visuals. He called the opportunity an "architect's dream."

"We absolutely need to create a vibrant community at Fort Monroe through adaptive reuse of the historic property," Oder said.

Oder currently represents the 94th District, which stretches across portions of Newport News, and serves as Vice Chairman of the House Transportation Committee. Oder was first elected to the General Assembly in 2001.

Colin Campbell, who served on the authority's search committee, said Oder was chosen from a field of 60 candidates.

Gov.Bob McDonnell praised the decision to hire Oder.

"As we move into the next phase of conversion of Fort Monroe over to the Commonwealth, it is essential that the next head of the Fort Monroe Authority is a proven leader and visionary who is personally vested in its success," McDonnell said in a news release, adding, "I cannot imagine someone more qualified for this important role than Glenn."

During Oder's tenure in the General Assembly he has championed legislation to curb payday lending across the state and has advocated expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

Oder also sits on the board of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, which sets regional transportation goals. He is a former president of the Peninsula Housing and Builders' Association.

Oder said there is more he would have liked to accomplish in the General Assembly.

"I would like to see someone pick up on my work on shaken baby syndrome. ... I regret that I won't be there to continue that fight," he said. "I certainly would have liked to see a 36 percent interest rate cap on predatory loans. I look forward to the day the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel finally gets improved."