Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 10, 1995 TAG: 9510100085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR AND DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Last week, Newell Falkinburg called them ``bimbos.''
Falkinburg, who is challenging Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke, for the House of Delegates seat representing parts of Roanoke and Roanoke County, used the term at a Roanoke Valley Academy of Medicine candidates forum in response to a question about utilization reviewers. They are nurses and physicians employed by insurance companies to determine what kind of coverage people seeking hospital medical treatment have and whether that treatment is medically necessary.
``These are people who aren't well-informed in medical issues who pass judgment on whether my patients can be admitted to hospitals or not,'' Falkinburg said. ``It's a real big issue in medicine.''
When asked Monday about referring to utilization reviewers as ``bimbos,'' Falkinburg at first didn't recall using the word. Usually, he said, he refers to them as ``idiots,'' sometimes ``cretins.'' Never ``bimbos.''
But Falkinburg later conceded, after a reminder from his campaign manager, that ``bimbo'' was his word of choice. Further, he'd consulted a dictionary. He found three definitions:
1. A foolish, stupid or inept person; 2. A man or fellow, often a disreputable or contemptible person; 3. A disreputable woman, a tramp.
``I was using definition No.1,'' he said. ``I was referring specifically to utilization reviewer without regard to which sex they are. I am not a sexist.''
Woodrum said he was ``a little put off'' by Falkinburg's use of the word.
``It's unfortunate to characterize people in any form or fashion,'' Woodrum said. ``I'm used to fairly civil discourse in a campaign. I guess I have to get used to different ways of speaking.''
\ High-speed race
Trixie Averill isn't in office, but she was already doing some constituent service Monday - and showing off some of the clout she says she'll be able to exercise with the governor's office.
The Republican candidate challenging House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County brought in none other than Gov. George Allen's chief of staff, Jay Timmons, to meet some potential contributors - and talk to some residents along Virginia 757 near Stewartsville in Bedford County.
The speed limit on that stretch of road is 35 mph. But the residents, Timmons said, believe it should be higher, for both convenience and safety. He said they contacted Cranwell in the past ``and felt they hadn't gotten resolution.''
So Averill, a former Allen campaign worker who has played up her close ties to the governor and emphasized how much influence she would have with the administration even as a freshman, took Timmons on a high-profile visit to the roadway Monday afternoon. Timmons said he agreed with the residents and had already called the state secretary of transportation to see what could be done.
``Let's face it,'' Timmons said. ``The current delegate has been there for a quarter-century. This [constituent service] is old hat to him. He's lost his enthusiasm for it. He'd rather be in Richmond beating up on the governor.''
Cranwell responded that he has no record of ever being contacted by the residents along Virginia 757 concerning the speed limit. And he brushed off Timmons' intervention, saying he found it ``rather comical'' and ``bordering on childish'' how involved the governor's office was getting in Averill's campaign. But he added that he was ``tickled to death'' that the residents' speed limit problems are being addressed at a high level.
``I am absolutely elated that the governor's office is providing this kind of constituent service to my district,'' he said. ``I am so glad to see the governor is getting so interested in this race that he'd send his chief of staff in to summarily call the secretary of transportation to get a speed limit changed.''
Cranwell said he trusted that any change in the speed limit would go through the ``appropriate procedures'' within the Department of Transportation to make sure safety isn't compromised.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB