Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 6, 1990 TAG: 9005060178
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C7 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
Wilder's decision to take advantage of the state's undemanding disclosure requirements reverses a precedent set by his predecessor, fellow Democrat Gerald Baliles, and has prompted attacks from Republicans and public interest groups who say Wilder's secrecy underscores the need for a tougher disclosure law.
Although state law didn't require it, Baliles recorded the roughly $45,000 profit from his 1986 inaugural festivities with the state Board of Elections. Over his four-year term, he used the money for personal expenses such as gifts for staff members and accommodations for his family when they accompanied him on trips.
Wilder's press secretary, Laura Dillard, would not say last week whether the governor would file with the Board of Elections, and declined to answer questions from The Washington Post about his inaugural finances.
"We've done what's required," she said.
Those requirements leave Wilder free not to answer such questions as which businesses and lobbyists paid up to $7,500 for tables at the Jan. 13 inaugural ball here, how much money was raised at the event and what Wilder will do with any surplus. The law also places no restrictions on what he can do with any profit.
Although there has been speculation in Richmond political circles about how much profit Wilder made - some estimates put the figure in the high six figures - Dillard would not say whether he made any profit at all from the weekend's social events.
It's impossible to know what Wilder's costs were (public portions of the inauguration, such as the swearing-in on the Capitol steps, were paid for by the state).
Whatever the amount spent, it's clear that a lot was raised. News reports at the time said that Wilder sold about 80 of the $7,500 tables - about $600,000 worth - for his inaugural ball. Although Dillard wouldn't release a list, many of these tables were bought by people or businesses with an interest in government, such as the prominent Richmond law firm of McGuire Woods Battle & Boothe.
Thousands of people who didn't sit at the big-money tables paid $50 each to attend the event, which drew about 13,000.
One of the most important expenditures wasn't particularly expensive. Three days' rent for the Richmond Coliseum, where the inaugural ball was held, cost $11,500, according to the coliseum's general manager, who said Wilder was given a break because of the "community service" nature of the event. Ordinarily, three days' use of the coliseum, which is owned by the City of Richmond, would cost as much as $40,000, he said.
Julie Lapham, director of Common Cause of Virginia, said Wilder's nondisclosure about his inaugural finances stands in contrast to recent speeches in which he has portrayed himself as a champion of open government.
"This has an implication that there's something to hide," Lapham said. "Chances are there's nothing to hide, but the implication is there."
A senior Republican legislator concurred. "As a matter of public policy, they should" disclose, said Del. Vincent Callahan Jr., R-McLean. "There's enough cynicism and suspicion about public officials already."
Although state law treats inaugural festivities the same as a private dinner party, Common Cause and others argue that as a practical matter they are public political events, and the people who pay $7,500 to attend do so for the same reasons they would contribute to candidates and political parties.
"Those tables would not be purchased were it [the event] not for the governor," Lapham said. Groups with an interest in public policy attend "to maintain their favored status. You need to nuzzle up to the powers that be."
Inaugural surpluses are "basically a political slush fund," said Steven Haner, director of the Republican Caucus, adding that Wilder "should disclose."
Chris Bridge, spokeswoman for Baliles, said that because the difference between inaugural and campaign contributions is ambiguous, "the governor [Baliles] thought it was in the public interest" to disclose his surplus four years ago.
Del. Alson Smith Jr., D-Winchester, a fund-raiser for the 1982 inauguration of Charles Robb as governor, said Robb turned his inaugural surplus over to the state Democratic Party. Robb, now a U.S. senator, had been criticized for his decision to transfer the surplus from his gubernatorial campaign to a personal political action committee, which became known as "ChuckPAC."
Wilder formed a similar PAC with about $50,000 left over from his 1985 campaign for lieutenant governor. He called the committee the "Underdog Fund," because it was ostensibly designed to help political longshots, particularly women and black candidates.
Ultimately, the main beneficiary was Wilder. In January 1989 the fund closed its books with an $11,000 gift to his gubernatorial campaign.
by CNB