Linda Wall, a conservative independent Virginia candidate for the House of Delegates, admitted on Wednesday that she had an affair with a female student as a junior high gym teacher in the early 1970s, but said she has changed.
"I've never tried to hide that I was in homosexuality," she said in an interview with the AP. "If anybody Googles me, they would find that out there," she said. "Forty years ago I was a different person. I was a heavy pot smoker with ... impaired judgment and made some bad choices," she added. The student was a minor at the time, meaning Wall could still be prosecuted if she comes forward.
In a 2006 deposition as part of a defamation lawsuit former Republican candidate Paul Jost filed against her and state Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., Wall confirmed that she had sexual relations with a minor. She said resigned her position after the superintendent of the unspecified Prince George County, Va. school confronted her about the allegation.
Wall said that she converted to Christianity, changed her sexual orientation and stopped using drugs. She has lobbied the Virginia legislature on social issues and describes herself as "ex-gay."
Wall isn't the only candidate with ethical issues in the November election centered in Appomattox County, Virginia, following the retirement of independent Del. Watkins Abbitt. Republican candidate Matt Fariss was named in a 2002 emergency protective order against a local woman, and was convicted in separate incidents for holding a concealed weapon and drunk driving. Supporters of Democratic candidate Connie Brennan have publicized reports on Fariss, whose record includes several misdemeanor convictions related to hunting violations and a DUI.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Connie Brennan had a DUI conviction. She does not. The story has been corrected to reflect her supporters publicizing Fariss' convictions.
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