WILDER TO APPEAL RULING ON TERRY

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

DATE: THURSDAY, January 7, 1993                   TAG: 9301070143
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Richmond bureau/staff
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short
WILDER TO APPEAL RULING ON TERRY
Gov. Douglas Wilder confirmed Wednesday that he will appeal a Richmond judge's ruling which barred him from firing Attorney General Mary Sue Terry as legal counsel for the state employees' pension fund.
Papers starting the appeal process to the Virginia Supreme Court will be filed Friday, said Wilder's press spokesman, Glenn Davidson.
In a brief, written statement, Wilder said he is appealing the December ruling by Richmond Circuit Judge Robert L. Harris Sr. because "I do not believe future governors should be hamstrung from appointing independent counsel when the need exists.
"If a legal conflict of interest exists between a state agency or department and an attorney general, the governor must be able to resolve the situation," Wilder said.
Through a senior aide, Deborah Love-Bryant, Terry said, "We respect the governor's right to appeal the Circuit Court's ruling."
Harris reaffirmed the attorney general's independence from the governor after Terry filed suit in mid-December to block Wilder from firing her and hiring private lawyers to represent the Virginia Retirement System.
The governor sought to fire Terry after she released a report highly critical of the VRS directors, most of whom were appointed by Wilder. While Terry found no evidence of mishandling of the fund's assets, she challenged the VRS directors for being secretive and subject to few state controls.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB