Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 10, 1992 TAG: 9201100301
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON
DATELINE: OAKTON LENGTH: Medium
WITHOUT A CAMPAIGN, WORKERS FLOUNDER
John Brazzell, deputy finance director for the Wilder for President campaign, spent Wednesday night in front of the television, addressing the last of 3,000 invitations for a $100-per-person Wilder birthday bash.Like many in the statewide audience for Wilder's State of the Commonwealth address, Brazzell's jaw dropped when the governor withdrew from the race.
Just that fast, Brazzell's work, the reason he quit a counseling job in Florida and moved overnight to Virginia last April, was gone.
Thursday, sitting in the national campaign office, Brazzell mused about the invitations and the end, after just four months, of what many staffers called a "dream" campaign.
"We're disappointed," Brazzell said, kicking back and taking another swig on a Diet Pepsi. A 5 o'clock shadow peeked from his light cheeks and though it was just after noon, he seemed fatigued.
"We've very disappointed," he said. "But there's a lot of pride here, too. We did a very good job . . . , even though we didn't have the resources of some other campaigns. We were the underdogs and we worked hard. If we had time, we might have . . . ."
He was interrupted by the phone, which somehow lacked the urgency of just the day before. People were calling with sympathy, asking for explanations and souvenirs.
"We're all hanging in there, trying to pull it together," said India Adeas, office director.
A 10 a.m. telephone conference call from Wilder confidant and political operative Paul Goldman did little, said several of the dozen or so staffers in the office, to quell questions about what's next - will the group stay together or disband? Will they work for another candidate? How long will they be paid?
So they waited for Joe Johnson, the campaign manager, whose mere arrival at about 2 p.m. seemed to reassure the mixture of political novices and seasoned veterans whose fire had suddenly been doused.
Johnson, and Wilder staffers in Richmond, had some answers: The staff will be paid through January; all five remaining candidates had called to inquire about how Wilder's staff might fit into their efforts. Johnson said he and Wilder would decide today whether to try to negotiate places for them in other campaigns.
Then Johnson instructed that lunch be ordered and that they eat together, sharing, perhaps for a last time.
"They are like troops who still want to fight when the general's called a truce," said Ron Lester, Wilder's national political director.
Keywords:
POLITICS