THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 30, 1994 TAG: 9412300493
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
State Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum on Thursday accused Gov. George F. Allen of hypocrisy for requesting $2 million to beef up his Cabinet while slashing funding for state services.
Woodrum, a Roanoke Democrat, zeroed in on a single page of Allen's budget that includes these recommendations:
An increase of $316,528 to double the personal staff of the secretary of health and human resources, Kay Coles James.
A decrease of $347,182 to eliminate ``non-essential'' respite care, home-delivered meals, transportation and in-home services for the elderly.
``These proposed changes,'' Wood-rum said, ``emphasize that the administration is certainly getting `meaner' but not `leaner.' ''
A spokesman for Allen, Ken Stroupe, shot back that Woodrum was misrepresenting the overall impact of the governor's downsizing efforts by singling out two items in a 163-page budget document.
Stroupe said the new Cabinet positions do not represent new spending but are part of an effort to streamline functions once performed by the individual agencies - public relations, policy-making and legislative relations.
James - the Cabinet secretary whom Wood-rum blasted for adding six positions to her personal staff - has cut 131 positions from agencies under her purview.
``Secretary James ought to be commended for her management practices,'' Stroupe said. ``She's consolidated a lot of functions and has saved a great deal of money.''
Woodrum insisted that beefing up Cabinet staffs, which historically have consisted of no more than a handful of advisers, runs contrary to Allen's agenda of reducing the size of state government.
``Let me tell you that Cleopatra on her barge on the Nile did not have as many people attending to her as the Cabinet secretaries in the Allen administration,'' he said.
Woodrum, a lawyer known for his razor wit, is one of the few Democratic legislators who has been willing to do battle with Allen over parole reform, tax cuts and government downsizing.
Thursday, he fired off a letter asking the House Appropriations Committee to draw up amendments restoring money for the homebound and stripping the ``press flacks, political operatives and flunkies'' from James' staff.
Woodrum said in an interview that James should set an example if she is going to eliminate meals, medical care and transportation designed to keep old folks out of nursing homes.
``I'm sure she can be leaner as well as meaner,'' Woodrum said.
James replied that the members of her staff are working for constituents, not serving her personal needs.
``You can count on us being leaner but not meaner,'' she said. ``We will be more compassionate. You can count on us working for the interests of the taxpayers and constituents we serve. Some folks haven't figured out how to do both, and we have.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Del. Clifton Woodrum.
Gov. George F. Allen.
by CNB