Western Prince William County won out big time in redistricting this past year at the House of Delegates level, picking up four new three new delegates in addition to three existing ones.

Joining Dels. Bob Marshall (R-13th), Scott Lingamfelter (R-31st) and Jackson Miller (R-50th) in the western half are Dels. Tim Hugo (R-40th), Richard Anderson (R-51st) and Del.-elect David Ramadan (R-87th), who defeated Democratic challenger Mike Kondratick by 51 votes out of 10,886 ballots cast.

Of those six, only Miller and Anderson ran unopposed.

Local residents are likely more familiar with Miller, who has represented the City of Manassas and some neighboring areas since his special election victory in 2006.

Like Miller, Anderson's district drew in some significant territory toward the west after redistricting this year. Both candidates were able to shed some of the more Democratic-leaning parts of their districts and pick up more GOP-friendly turf toward Gainesville.

First elected in the Republican wave of 2009 when he ousted former Del. Paul Nichols (D), the retired Air Force colonel became a considerably more effective legislator in 2011 than in 2010.

Only two of the bills he introduced in his first year were passed into law.

Anderson generally votes as a conservative but his own legislation is not as easy to pigeonhole ideologically.

Excluding commemorative resolutions, Anderson passed 13 out of 15 bills he introduced to the House of Delegates this year, giving him a success rate of just under 87 percent.

Successes from his second year on the job include two bills each about firearms, veterans, and Freedom of Information Act requests, and one each focusing on VDOT, reckless driving, tax credits, securing court records and voting.

Only two of his 13 successful bills received any opposition at all in the form of votes. One regarded the state implementing an E-Verify program for state contractors. Another authorized the use of inmate labor at Interstate rest stops.

Both bills ultimately picked up bipartisan support, with state Sen. George Barker (D-39th) even carrying the E-Verify bill in the upper chamber. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) signed those and the other 11 into law.

The two bills introduced by Anderson that did not make it out of committee involved setting a statewide uniform grading policy for advanced placement courses in schools and valuing motor vehicles.

One view of Anderson's record would suggest that he is able to win over his Democratic colleagues much in the same manner Barker courted Republicans on his way to passing more than 20 bills that he introduced this year.

Another suggests Anderson is content with allowing other Republicans to introduce more controversial bills and then signing on to them.

For instance, Anderson signed on as a patron to Marshall's bill targeting the individual mandate provision within the national health care law.

Marshall's bill, which became law, states that Virginia residents are not required to obtain health insurance.

Such a bill is more for show than an actual enforceable policy as federal law trumps state law unless ruled otherwise in court. The United States Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for the federal health care law in early 2012 with a ruling expected by June.

Yet, in regard to Virginia receiving $1.9 billion in federal stimulus dollars, Anderson said, "I kind of subscribe to the Jackson Miller model."

He was referring to Miller opposing the concept of the stimulus when introduced in Congress but supporting Virginia taking its share of the money once it became federal law.

Anderson was not elected yet to the House of Delegates to vote on the original stimulus offer but did support McDonnell seeking federal approval for second- and third-year stimulus dollars for current transportation projects.

"I'm not happy about it, but that's how I voted," said Anderson.

He mentioned that, "I think everybody has concerns about transportation."

According Anderson, he was "pleased" the governor's transportation bill passed, "especially because it had been fashioned by several delegates (and) several senators."

What he said appealed the most to him about pursuing transportation projects at the moment are the "top-dollar" bargains being worked out between the state and construction contractors due to the fragile economy.

A Roanoke native and 1979 Virginia Tech graduate, Anderson lives in Woodbridge with his wife Ruth. They have four children.

More information about Anderson can be found at www.rich4delegate.com.