Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305090211
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROB EURE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Terry, 45, a two-term attorney general from Patrick County who resigned early this year, would become the first woman governor of Virginia.
"You know, I've never said this before, but I think it's time," she told about 2,000 cheering Democrats.
Terry was joined by Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, who is seeking a second term, and attorney general candidate William Dolan of Arlington in winning uncontested nominations.
Terry said she would make improving the economy, education and health care as well as fighting crime her top priorities.
"We need to go from the hopelessness of unemployment to the reality of a job, from the wasteland of ignorance to the fulfillment that education and knowledge can bring,"she said.
Republicans were quick to criticize the Democratic platform. "She just outlined 12 years of Democratic failure," said Jay Timmons, spokesman for Republican gubernatorial frontrunner George Allen.
Terry said she will govern "with all of you, the people of Virginia, by my side."
Democrats, perhaps less than excited about history-making nominations after making Douglas Wilder the nation's first elected black governor in 1989, and deferring to Terry's never-flashy style, were reserved during a morning of speeches from the three candidates.
In fact, Beyer may have won the loudest cheers with a speech that ranged from Reaganesque stories of heroic individual Virginians, to self-deprecating humor, to calls for action against poverty.
"As the first certified automobile mechanic to be Virginia's lieutenant governor, I'm willing to throw up the hood and get my hands dirty," joked Beyer, an executive in a family-owned Volvo dealership in Fairfax.
Dolan, making his first bid for public office, gave a tough anti-crime speech. He supports the death penalty, and said he favors treating older juveniles - 16- and 17-year-olds - as adults when they're charged with violent crimes.
Perhaps the only drama came when Terry entered the Richmond Centre hall to the tune "Let the River Run" from the film "Working Girl." She spent about 10 minutes working her way around the hall before her speech.
A quiet convention is just what the Democrats wanted as they begin the effort to elect the top three statewide officials for the fourth consecutive time. Terry starts with enviable advantages, including a $1.5 million bankroll and leads of 2-1 or more in early polls.
Her party is unified behind her - something next month's Republican nominee will have to build.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB