Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
``At this time, I am not ready to do that, although obviously it's something I'm wrestling with,'' Woods said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
She met Monday with Lt. Gov. Don Beyer and other top Democrats, who have urged her to leave the GOP.
``It would give us an unambiguous majority,'' Beyer said.
She has made Democrats no promises and has not set a deadline for her decision, Woods said.
She ran unopposed in the 34th District in the Nov. 7 election to represent part of Fairfax County and part of the city of Fairfax. The Senate, which appeared headed for a GOP majority, ended up split 20-20 with Democrat Beyer as the tiebreaker.
Beyer, a quiet politician who is planning his own run for governor in two years, would prefer not to occupy that hot seat, he and other politicians have said.
Woods, a moderate who represents an economically mixed area of Northern Virginia, said she has considered leaving the GOP in the past. She has had differences with the conservative wing of her party for years and was openly critical of Gov. George Allen in the last session.
``Obviously this is not the first time I've thought about where I can be me, and it's not the first time I've talked'' to Democrats, she said.
Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe said he was not surprised the Democrats had approached Woods.
``There's a 20-20 tie right now - it's to be expected,'' he said. ``It's happening on all sides. From everything I've heard her say, she's not going to switch parties.''
``She was elected as a Republican, and we would hope that she would remain a Republican,'' Stroupe said.
Beyer said the meeting with Woods, Sen. Joseph Gartlan Jr., D-Fairfax County, Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Springfield, and other Democrats was ``a casual meeting among friends.''
``Our express purpose was not to put any pressure on her ... we reinforced in our own ways that she was always welcome in the Democratic Party,'' Beyer said.
Stroupe said there are no plans for Allen to meet with Woods, but ``I'm sure that we will be in touch with her.''
Senate Minority Leader Joseph Benedetti, R-Richmond, said Wednesday evening he was trying to reach Woods to talk with her and that members of the Republican Caucus were calling her individually to discuss the situation.
Beyer said he has ``low expectations'' that Woods would switch.
``It's a tough decision. It's two decisions really - one whether to leave the GOP and secondly whether to become a Democrat.''
Woods was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1987. She has served one term in the Senate.
Like Democratic Sen. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount, Woods has departed from her party often on such issues as gun control and abortion.
by CNB