The more time that I spend mapping the social relationships of legislators via their copatroning habits, the more fascinated that I am by this mechanism of exploring the General Assembly. It really is a powerful tool. (To see one of the ways I’m using it on Richmond Sunlight now, check out HB1721, SB1436, or HB2482, where you can see a graph indicating the average partisan position of each bill’s cosponsors.)
Here’s a less thoughtful usage of this data, but no less interesting: a listing of the legislators in each body and the total number of bills that they copatroned in this year’s session.
| Legislator | # |
|---|---|
| Patsy Ticer (D) | 61 |
| Chap Petersen (D) | 55 |
| Robert Hurt (R) | 51 |
| Richard Stuart (R) | 50 |
| John Edwards (D) | 45 |
| Jill Holtzman Vogel (R) | 44 |
| Roscoe Reynolds (D) | 44 |
| Mary Margaret Whipple (D) | 43 |
| Harry Blevins (R) | 41 |
| Creigh Deeds (D) | 40 |
| Frank Wagner (R) | 39 |
| Fred Quayle (R) | 39 |
| Walter Stosch (R) | 39 |
| Janet Howell (D) | 38 |
| Tommy Norment (R) | 38 |
| John Watkins (R) | 37 |
| Don McEachin (D) | 37 |
| Toddy Puller (D) | 37 |
| Ken Stolle (R) | 36 |
| Henry Marsh (D) | 35 |
| Emmett Hanger (R) | 35 |
| Phil Puckett (D) | 34 |
| Steve Newman (R) | 33 |
| Ken Cuccinelli (R) | 33 |
| Frank Ruff (R) | 33 |
| Louise Lucas (D) | 32 |
| Mamie Locke (D) | 32 |
| George Barker (D) | 31 |
| Ralph Northam (D) | 31 |
| Edd Houck (D) | 31 |
| Yvonne Miller (D) | 30 |
| Stephen Martin (R) | 30 |
| William Wampler (R) | 28 |
| Ralph Smith (R) | 27 |
| Mark Herring (D) | 27 |
| Dick Saslaw (D) | 26 |
| Ryan McDougle (R) | 26 |
| John Miller (D) | 23 |
| Mark Obenshain (R) | 22 |
| Chuck Colgan (D) | 21 |
Sen. Patsy Ticer comes in #1 in her chamber, with 1.69 times as many bills copatroned as the average member of her chamber, while Del. Clay Athey is at the top of his half of the legislature—and the whole of the General Assembly—with an impressive 1.82 times as many bills copatroned as the average member of the House.