Frank was elected to serve in the Virginia Senate in November 2000 to fill the unexpired term of the late Richard Holland. Prior to Frank’s election to the Virginia Senate, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates since first elected in 1993.
After the 2011 redistricting, the 15th Senate district includes all of the counties of Charlotte, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Nottoway, as well as parts of the counties of Brunswick, Campbell, Dinwiddie, Halifax, Pittsylvania, and Prince George, and part of the City of Danville. The 15th district is the largest in the Commonwealth.
Frank’s senate standing assignments include service on the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the Committee on Rules, the Committee on General Laws and Technology which he chairs, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Committee on Local Government.
His service to Virginia includes membership on several boards and commissions. He serves on the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission where he was elected as Vice-chairman in 2010. Additionally, he chairs the Education Committee. He also serves on the Southside Economic Development Committee and the Executive Committee.
Frank serves as Chairman of the Center for Rural Virginia that is focused on serving the needs and opportunities of the rural parts of Virginia.
As well, he serves on the Roanoke River Bi-state Commission, Martin Luther King Memorial Commission, the State Water Commission, the Virginia Workforce Council, the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center Board of Trustees, and the Small Business Commission.
His work also includes responsibilities on national legislative organizations. Frank serves on the Trade and Economic Development Committee of the American Legislative Exchange Council and on the Agriculture and Rural Development Committees of the Southern Legislative Conference and the National Conference of State Legislators
For the last several years Frank has focused on economic development, education and workforce training in rural Virginia as well as protecting our natural resources. He has worked with prospective job creators to encourage them to come to our region. From assistance with funding for industrial parks to enhancing tourism, from working with the Governor and local leaders to recruit new industry to the creation of a much needed law enforcement hazardous driving school, he has been a leader in the fight for small-town communities across the Fifteenth Senate District. Frank led the effort to create scholarships and forgivable loans through the Tobacco Commission as a way to educate the tobacco region’s young people and to encourage them to return to the region to re-establish their roots in this region. He has worked to establish workforce centers throughout Southern and Southwest Virginia as well as specialized training programs at the community colleges.