Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 12, 1990                   TAG: 9003122794
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

LAWMAKERS PRAISE GOVERNOR

Wilder's philosophy for dealing with the General Assembly was much different from that of his predecessor, Gerald Baliles. Wilder rarely made his presence felt; Baliles routinely had staff members roaming the halls of the General Assembly Building, lobbying for bills he supported.

Nevertheless, Wilder was successful on his two major initiatives - creation of a $200 million reserve fund and repeal of the sales tax on non-prescription drugs.

Wilder said the General Assembly passed 115 of the 119 administration bills.

"This was an excellent session for the governor," said Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton.

Cranwell said Wilder likely would have done more if the state financial situation that he inherited had been better. "The fact that money was so tight kind of dominated the whole session," Cranwell said.

"Governor Wilder's big goal was to get the budget in shape," said Del. Leslie Byrne, D-Fairfax. "He trusts the legislative process, and he gave us a free hand to meet the goals. He wasn't intrusive."

Byrne was reluctant to characterize Wilder's approach as an improvement over Baliles' tactics, but House Minority Leader Raymond Guest, R-Warren, had no such qualms.

"Baliles spent everything he could," Guest said. "Wilder is trying to get us back on track."

Del. George Allen, R-Albemarle, said Wilder was silent on many issues. "The legislature was able to work its will," Allen said. "They weren't having their arms twisted into doing things they didn't want to do."

Wilder said at a news conference on Saturday, the last day of the session, that he thought the lawmakers appreciated his approach.

"We know how to communicate, and we've been doing it a long time," said Wilder, who served 16 years in the Virginia Senate and four years as lieutenant governor.

Mark Rozell, a political analyst at Mary Washington College, was not impressed with the way Wilder distanced himself from the legislative process.

"I don't think he's really had a coherent program, per se, that he has articulated," Rozell said. "Part of that is derived from the budgetary crisis, which understandably places serious constraints on his ability to be a more activist governor.

"Nonetheless, there have been some issues on which Wilder could have taken a much more assertive leadership role. To that extent, his first session has not been very successful."

Rozell criticized Wilder for failing to take a clear position on such issues as public smoking restrictions, admission of women to Virginia Military Institute and downzoning.

Wilder did score one coup late in the session when he had the non-prescription drug sales tax repeal tacked onto a liquor pricing bill. He met little resistance.

"My reaction to that is to say, `It's about time,' " Rozell said.

"He has a leadership role to play. He can mold events or sit back and let events unfold. This one issue demonstrates how effective a leader he can be should he decide to be more assertive."