Businessman politician teacher
Julian Sargeant Reynolds was born on June 30, 1936 in New York City, the son of Richard S. Reynolds, Jr. , and Virginia Sargeant. His paternal grandfather was the founder and president of the Reynolds Metals Corporation, one of the nation's largest producers of aluminum.
Reynolds attended Woodberry Forest School in Orange County, Virginia, and then matriculated at Princeton University; after two years he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania. In 1958, he was awarded a degree in economics by the Wharton School of Finance.
He returned to Richmond to pursue a career in the family business. While serving as vice-president for corporate affairs of Reynolds Metals, Reynolds became interested in higher education and soon joined the faculty of the University of Richmond. For three years, he taught economics and found he had unusual rapport with his students.
In 1965, Reynolds decided to seek a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. At the time, the city of Richmond had "floater" seats for members to be elected at large from the community; in a field of eleven candidates, Reynolds finished with thirty-two thousand votes, in second place among the elected delegates. During the campaign, he relied on students and teenage volunteers; his victory indicated a popularity that crossed party and racial lines. Reynolds recognized the political reality of a large black electorate in Richmond and allied himself with black moderates.
In 1967, Reynolds was elected to the state senate; his drawing power was proved when he received twenty-eight thousand votes and led the Democratic ticket at a time when conservative forces were still dominant in state government. During his first months in the Senate, Reynolds secured passage of a bill designed to raise housing standards in a city that was still markedly divided along racial lines.
He also was a spokesman for women's rights, and appointed the first female page to serve in the Virginia General Assembly.
The political balance in Virginia was swinging toward the Republicans, but Reynolds showed unusual strength when he decided to seek the lieutenant governor's post in the 1969 race. In his campaign he eschewed professional advice and ran his own special race, designing his campaign literature and making television commercials in a garage.
He wrote campaign advertisements, matched his vote-seeking devices to the colors of the Reynolds Company packaging, and used television announcements that lacked the professional touch but were appealing to a broad spectrum of voters. In conducting his statewide campaign, Reynolds stressed his independent approach to political problems, ad-libbed most of his speeches, and impressed the electorate with his energy and broad knowledge of Virginia history.
He told audiences that he had sought a campaign contribution of $20, 000 from his grandmother, and received a gift after admitting that the office he sought paid only a fraction of that amount as a salary. "I'm glad you aren't running the company, " Reynolds quoted her. Virginia voters elected a Republican as governor that November but chose Reynolds as lieutenant governor. He captured 452, 000 votes and became the youngest lieutenant governor of Virginia. His rapid rise in state politics seemed to presage higher office.
Newspaper commentators during the campaign had compared Reynolds's style and speaking manner with that of John F. Kennedy, and once he was elected, there was considerable speculation that he would easily become the state's governor four years thereafter. In a state where "massive resistance" to racial integration had been a test of political loyalty, Reynolds spoke for a new generation that urged compliance with court rulings on racial questions.
When the Supreme Court ruled that school busing was a proper device to foster integration, Reynolds was quick to speak out for acceptance of the ruling. Reynolds's popularity in both parties was so remarkable that the shock of his announcement in August 1970 that he was suffering from a brain tumor struck party leaders profoundly. In January 1971, while he was obviously ill and losing weight, Reynolds opened the Virginia Senate session and asked the minister who gave the invocation "to put in a good word for me. "
Thereafter he was seldom seen in public, but he attended an April meeting of conservative politicians at Wakefield, where his remarks drew applause, a reporter observed, from "a roll call of former leaders of 'massive resistance. ' " Reynolds renewed his plea for acceptance of court rulings favoring integration, and made it clear that if his health improved, he would be leading the forces for change. But his health worsened. Experimental treatments were tried, to no avail. The tumor was inoperable, and Reynolds died in New York City. His funeral procession was routed through the black community of Richmond.
Reynolds's youthful good looks and slight build made him stand out at political gatherings, and his easygoing manner made him comfortable with older, more experienced public figures.
Reynolds had married Elizabeth Weir Veeneman in 1965; they had three children. Their marriage was failing, however, just as his political star was rising, and it ended in divorce.
In 1969, he married Mary Ballou Handy; they had one child.
