Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508030024
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY L. GARLAND
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But no previous governor faced exactly the same political problem. Having thrown down the gauntlet to the assembly's Democratic majority from his first day in office, Allen must now see his party win control of at least one house of the legislature or be content to consume endless dishes of humble pie over the next two years.
No previous Democratic governor ever worried that his party would lose its majority in the General Assembly during his term. And no previous Republican chief executive entertained any realistic expectation this historic state of affairs would change on his watch. From the start, Allen has operated on the assumption he could lead Republicans out of the wilderness into the promised land of chairing assembly committees, electing judges and putting their stamp on all bills.
Democrats unwisely snubbed Allen during his sojourn in the House of Delegates from 1983 to 1991. It wasn't until after he was elected a fifth time that he got a top committee assignment from then-Speaker A.L. Philpott. That was very much in the era of Republicans going hat in hand to Democratic leaders petitioning for promotion to better committees or a little help on a pet project.
Even after Allen was elected governor in a landslide, and Republicans won 47 out of 100 seats in the House, Democrats cut them short in handing out committee plums. Entitled to 10 seats on all 22-member committees, Republicans hold only five places on Appropriations, seven on Corporations, Insurance & Banking, seven on Courts of Justice and eight on Finance.
On less important committees, Republicans now hold their appropriate share of seats, but are still shortchanged in the whole House. On a strict mathematical basis, Republicans should have 176 out of 375 seats on the 20 standing committees of the House. They have 152. Not bad when compared to the way it used to be. But senior Republicans have waited for years to get the speaker's nod for slots on Appropriations and other coveted committees.
It is the speaker's sole discretion in handing out committee assignments that makes the office so powerful in enforcing discipline. If Republicans gain a majority in the November election, it's likely that Del. Vance Wilkins of Amherst, who now serves as minority leader, will be elevated to the speakership by his GOP colleagues. In view of the high-handedness of previous Democratic occupants of the chair, it's only to be expected that Wilkins will try to even the score. He might even violate House tradition by removing junior Democrats from important committees in order to reward long-parched Republicans. Under the circumstances, there would be nothing wrong with that.
But Wilkins would make a mistake if he follows the precedent set by Democrats of ignoring the idea of a fair division of committee seats based on a party's strength in the whole House. In an era of two-party competition, Wilkins would do well to establish a new precedent of fairness that might work in favor of his own party when the tables are turned.
While Speaker Tom Moss, D-Norfolk, gave Republicans the back of his hand on the question of a more or less fair division of seats on important committees, he has proved himself a good presiding officer. Famous for his quick and original wit, he uses it appropriately to lighten the mood of the House and move business along. He will even indulge the most tedious or obtuse member trying to make a point that might be better left unmade.
While Moss is both agile and authoritative in presiding over the House, the man who wants to replace him is much more the dull plodder. Now completing his ninth term, Vance Wilkins has yet to prove himself entirely comfortable in floor debate or in mastering proper parliamentary form.
But seemingly simple men can have lofty and complex dreams. Defeated in his first efforts to enter the House, and given little credit by senior members of either party during his early years there, Wilkins nursed the dream of leading Republicans to a majority and getting himself elected speaker. His view of past GOP leaders in the House such as Del. Andy Guest, whom he displaced after the 1991 election, was jaundiced. Wilkins thought them far too accommodating and accepting of Democratic control - too supportive of the status quo to be effective agents of a "true" conservative agenda.
Wilkins did more than dream. He beat the bushes to find Republican challengers for Democratic incumbents and he put the arm on lobbyists to find money for their campaigns. His message to business was simple: "You depend upon our votes but give all your money to the majority party. That isn't right and must change." Gradually, it did. He also backed those new candidates with a small caucus staff to supply research, fund-raising help and support over rough patches.
While Republican gains in the House have been relatively slow - only 13 more seats over 10 years - the remarkable thing is how the party has gone from a position of gross inferiority in offering candidates to actually surpassing the Democrats. In the 1995 election, Republicans have 84 candidates for 100 seats in the House compared to 80 for the Democrats.
Wilkins is telling everyone who will listen that the GOP will win the House. If it does, and I wouldn't be so sanguine, a remarkable reversal of political fortune will have taken place. Whatever you may think of his capacity to lead the House, and a few senior GOP legislators will do their share of sneering, Wilkins has 'em sweating. Only the most yellow-dog Democrat would fail to discover a degree of poetic justice in that.
Ray L. Garland is a Roanoke Times columnist.
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POLITICS
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