John Howson Rust Jr. (May 21, 1947 – December 30, 2021) is an American lawyer and politician from Fairfax County, Virginia, who twice served in the Virginia General Assembly and currently as the county's Commissioner of Accounts.[1][2]
Early life and education
Although born in a hospital in Washington, D.C., in 1947, and was a lifelong Fairfax County resident.[3] His parents were Jean Johnson and John H. Rust[2] Three generations of his family practiced law in northern Virginia, and his father served as Fairfax's mayor as well as a delegate to Virginia's 1956 Constitutional Convention, and his grandfather, also John W. Rust, served in the Senate of Virginia.[4]
Following his admission to the Virginia Bar and military service, Rust worked as a lawyer in Fairfax in the family law firm, Rust & Rust,[2] which in 1982 merged with another law firm to become McCandlish, Lillard, Rust & Church.[5] From 1974 to 1978, Rust was the Fairfax city attorney.[6] He also served as counsel to the Fairfax School Board.
Virginia delegate
Rust first became one of Fairfax County's delegates in the Virginia House of Delegates (a part-time position) in 1979 (to what was then the 18th House of Delegates district), and won re-election in 1981 (to what became the 50th House of Delegates district) and thus served from 1980 to 1982. However, his second re-election attempt failed when Rust narrowly lost to Stephen E. Gordy in the Republican Party primary in what had become the 37th Virginia House of Delegates district following court-required adoption of single-member districts.[7]
Rust won a special election for the 37th district seat in 1996, and then a full two-year term in November 1997.[8] Rust retained his seat in the 1999 elections, having been named Legislator of the Year by the Virginia Treasurers' Association, Tech Ten Legislator and Business Leader of the Year (all three in 1998) as well as Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Chamber Champion (1999). Following the 2000 United States Census, Rust helped redraw electoral boundaries.[9] Nonetheless, Rust lost his seat in the next election, defeated by Democrat Chap Petersen in 2001, and again in the 2003 election rematch.[10]
Commissioner of Accounts
Appointed Commissioner of Accounts for the 19th Judicial Circuit in February 2006. Rust's legal practice included estate administration services, the preparation of income and estate tax returns; and trust administration services, including maintenance, investment, and distribution of trust accounts. He also provided estate planning services, including tax planning and the preparation of wills and trusts. A member of the Fairfax, Virginia and American Bar Associations, the Virginia State Bar, and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Rust is qualified to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia and in all Virginia courts.[11]
Virginia Resource Authority
Governor Robert McDonnell appointed Rust to the VRA Board in 2012.[12] He served on the board's Portfolio Risk Management Committee and the Legislative Committee, as well as chaired the Strategic Planning Committee.[13]
Cardinal Financial Corporation and Patriot Bankshares
After helping to found Cardinal Financial Corporation, Rust became its initial chairman of the board of directors and remained as a director (1997–2009), including time as the board's vice-chairman. Rust also was the founding chairman of First Patriot Bankshares Corporation and served on its board from 1987 to 1997.
Personal life
Rust married the former Susan Mary Byrne in 1970.[2] They had three sons, J.W., Tom and Bob.
