ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190099
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
State House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell bowed to mounting criticism Thursday and said he will step down as lead counsel in Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield's high-profile bid to become a stock company.
The Vinton Democrat said he broke no laws by earning at least $225,000 from the state's most powerful insurance company in the past two years. But he conceded that ethical questions surrounding the arrangement had begun to divert attention from important legislative matters.
``I hope we now can get back to the public's business, because I believe we have the opportunity this session to make more progress in public education than any time since I've been in the legislature,'' he told a hushed House of Delegates chamber.
The surprise announcement came one day after Cranwell shrugged off newspaper and television reports detailing his ties to Trigon's application before the State Corporation Commission to raise capital by selling stock.
Cranwell brushed off reporters Thursday who pressed him for more details on his decision to remove himself from the SCC application. ``I've said what I have to say,'' he told them.
There was speculation that Trigon officials asked Cranwell to step aside before he became a liability to their SCC application.
In a statement supporting Cranwell's decision, the company said: ``We, too, want to eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest for Trigon and for him.''
This is the second time in three years that Cranwell retreated after wading into murky ethical waters.
In 1993, he teamed with four other senior Democratic legislators to form a mortgage insurance company. Cranwell later withdrew after critics suggested that banks could steer business toward the company in an effort to win favor with the lawmakers.
Thursday, Cranwell said he would ask a House ethics panel whether he could vote on several matters that could involve Trigon, including two SCC nominees who will rule on the company's application.
He also expressed frustration with state conflict of interest laws - which he helped write - that expose lawmakers to criticism even if they stay within the boundaries of the law.
In Virginia, part-time legislators are allowed to vote on virtually any matter so long as they disclose financial interests that could pose potential conflicts. Lawmakers are barred from voting only in narrowly defined cases where the outcome would benefit them in a ``specific'' way.
Though he has been one of the strongest advocates of the ethics laws based on disclosure, Cranwell told his colleagues that they might try a different approach.
``I am concerned we must preserve the citizen legislature,'' he said.
``Do you feel that a disclosure law is still adequate in Virginia? I ask you that because I do not want to see any of you go through the agony that some members of this body have gone through.''
It appears unlikely, however, that the Cranwell-Trigon episode will spur the General Assembly to open a wider debate on ethics laws.
``It's been reviewed, re-reviewed and re-reviewed 10 different times,'' said House Speaker Thomas Moss of Norfolk. ``There are no easy answers.''
Del. Watkins Abbitt, D-Appomattox County, said that occasional conflicts may be the price of a part-time legislature.
``Pay us $100,000, and we'll stay down here year-round and you'll really see some mischief,'' Abbitt said. ``We'll wind up like the United States Congress, making a bunch of laws that don't make any sense.''
Del. Whitt Clement, D-Danville, acknowledged that the current law means some ``gray areas'' are not covered by specific guidelines.
``That's when you have a perception problem. It's your own individual judgment at that point,'' he said.
House Republican Caucus Chairman Leo Wardrup of Virginia Beach said Cranwell could have spared himself agony by considering what the public would think of a state-regulated company like Trigon paying him big legal fees.
``It becomes a matter of perception,'' he said.
Wardrup said one simple solution would be to bar legislators from representing clients before state agencies.
He acknowledged that his proposal would face strong opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike.
``That's not going to change anything,'' said Moss, a lawyer who - like several lawmakers - has represented clients before the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Of all legislators who appear before state agencies, Cranwell faces heightened scrutiny because of his unique combination of litigation savvy and political clout.
``How many Cranwells are going to come along and command that kind of fee?'' Clement said.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Del. Richard Cranwell said Thursday that his work asby CNBlead counsel in Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield's attempt to become a
stock company broke no laws. color. Graphic: Chart: Cranwell and
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