Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey is once again a free man, and he’s busy with political plans.

The first Virginia legislator to serve while in jail, he turned in his ankle bracelet and ended his term at the Henrico County Jail-East in New Kent County at 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sheriff Michael Wade.

He had been serving a six-month sentence on his misdemeanor conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but jail rules cut that to 90 days. He spent his nights in jails, but was able to serve at the General Assembly and practice law during the day while on work release.

“I feel great,” he said Monday as he prepared to leave jail. “This hasn’t hurt me. This hasn’t bothered me. It has just made me stronger.”

While Delegate Morrissey declined comment, there is speculation that he plans to challenge Petersburg Sen. Rosalyn R. Dance in the 16th Senate District that stretches from Richmond’s East End to Petersburg and Hopewell.

First, however, he must be cleared of new felony charges involving perjury and forgery on which he is scheduled to be tried April 28 in Henrico Circuit Court. A felony conviction would bar him from public office.

Whatever happens, the Free Press has learned that Delegate Morrissey will be giving up his House seat and will back the Rev. Leonidas B. “Lee” Young II, a former Richmond mayor who served time in federal prison 15 years ago and who is seeking to make a comeback in politics after having his rights restored.

Sources said that Rev. Young, founder and pastor of New Kingdom Christian Ministries on North Side, is to formally announce his bid for the 74th House District seat at Delegate Morrissey’s law office in Highland Springs next Tuesday, March 17.

The district includes Charles City County, the Fairfield and Varina districts in Henrico County and one precinct in Richmond’s North Side where Rev. Young’s church is located.

Asked about it this week, Delegate Morrissey only would say he has received calls from Rev. Young and two others who are expected to run for the 74th House seat. One, Lamont Bagby, a member of the Henrico School Board, announced his bid for election last week. The other is David Lambert, son of the late former Richmond Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III.

Mr. Lambert earlier said he would run, but has yet to announce. That’s also the case with farmer and retired labor leader Kevin J. Sullivan, who lost to Delegate Morrissey in a January special election. Mr. Sullivan also indicated he would try again this year, but has yet to publicly announce.

Rev. Young confirmed that he plans to run in the June primary for the Democratic nomination, but would not say when he would formally announce his candidacy.

The 60-year-old pastor said he is older and wiser than the man who went to prison in 1999 after pleading guilty to federal charges involving influence peddling, mail fraud and defrauding a parishioner. He served his sentence in federal prison until 2001.

He said he is entering the race to show that people who have made mistakes can overcome their pasts and fill positions of trust.

“Somebody needs to blaze the trail” for former felons who have had their rights restored, he said. “This is the right time.”

He said there are plenty of people who are seeking to make a new life after incarceration, including about half the members of his congregation.

If elected, the Henrico resident said he would advocate for increasing the minimum wage and for automatic restoration of rights for felons who have served their time, among other issues.

Rev. Young is able to run because he is among the thousands of people who had their rights restored during the administration of former Gov. Bob McDonnnell, who now is seeking to overturn his own recent conviction on federal corruption charges.

A graduate of Virginia Union University, Rev. Young also holds a master’s degree from Drew University. The University of Richmond presented him with an honorary doctorate in 1998.

A former pastor of Fourth Baptist Church in Richmond, Rev. Young was considered a rising Democratic star, having won election to Richmond City Council four times and served as mayor from 1994 to 1996.

He founded New Kingdom Christian Ministries before he went to prison in 1999. He later returned to lead the 400-member congregation with his wife, Sanya.

Separately, the Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III, pastor of Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church in Henrico, is said to be considering a run for the Fairfield District seat on the Henrico School Board that Mr. Bagby plans to give up to run for the House of Delegates.

Also, Frank J. Thornton, a retired French professor at Virginia Union University, has announced he will be seeking re election to his sixth term on the Henrico Board of Supervisors. The first African-American member of the board when he was elected in 1995, Mr. Thornton is now the board’s chairman. He represents the Fairfield District.

The Rev. Tyrone E. Nelson, the second African-American member of the five-member governing board, also is expected to seek re-election to a second term representing the Varina District. Pastor of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in Richmond, Rev. Nelson won his first term in 2011 and is now vice chairman.