Photo of the Day: Ralph Smith's Lavish New Home

Former Roanoke Mayor and State Senator Ralph Smith, who was gerrymandered out of his senatorial district recently, has established residence in this house in order to run for the Virginia Senate again in another district. My pal Sean Kelley, who lives near this cabin, and who shot the photo from his truck, says, "Ralph Smith's primary residence. Looks like about 550 sq. ft. And never a car in the drive! I drive by every day. This place is uninhabited!"

Smith rents the cabin from a friend. He has been known in recent years for moving from district to district trying to find a governmental seat of some kind. His houses have not been modest. When he was Roanoke mayor (winning the seat with 34 percent of the vote in a three-way field) he lived in the mansion on the side of Mill Mountain, then moved to Botetourt County into another huge house in order to face Brandon Bell, who was running for re-election. Bell is his competitor again, this time running as an Independent.