[2] He was selected by the Brunswick County Republican party to be the nominee for the Virginia House of Delegates in August 1873.
[2] Whittaker was duly elected to the House of Delegates in November 1873 defeating by 1448 to 961 the white conservative candidate.
[2] In August 1875 he attended a state convention to "discuss the economic inequalities faced by African Americans in Virginia".
[2] Whittaker won the first of his three two year terms to the office of Brunswick County Board of Supervisors from Totaro Magisterial District in May 1887.
[2] Towards the end of his service he was in serious financial issues that resulted in the courts ordering that his land be sold at a public auction to pay his debts around 1902.