Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993 TAG: 9309280240
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
"You and I both know there are no easy answers on crime," Mary Sue Terry, the Democratic nominee, says to open her new commercial.
But easy, or at least unspecific, answers are about all Terry provides in the ad. "As governor," she says, "I'll toughen our parole laws. And for the criminals in jail, no cable TV or color TV. Prisoners will work."
Republican George Allen, meanwhile, appears in his new commercial outside a Richmond bakery that was the scene of a murder. "The victim was working to get his doctorate degree," Allen tells viewers. "The gunman - he was out on early parole for previously shooting a man in the head. . .
"I want to abolish parole, especially for violent criminals. Mary Sue Terry disagrees," Allen adds.
Terry's ad replies to an Allen commercial last week that blamed her for not doing more to stop the rise in violent crime in Virginia during her seven years as attorney general. Terry resigned that office in January to devote full time to her campaign.
Allen "has resorted to attacks and distortions" in discussing crime, Terry says in the ad, without specifying them.
Both candidates have been talking for months about toughening parole laws and providing longer sentences for violent crimes. But Terry's ad is the first to suggest that Virginia inmates are being coddled.
The ad doesn't mention that the color TVs and cable hookups in state prisons are not purchased with taxpayer dollars. Forrest Powell, director of operations for programs in the prison system, said those amenities are paid for out of profits generated by inmate commissaries.
While most prisons have color TVs, Powell said only those located out of range of broadcast stations have cable hookups. Educational programs in the prisons use television extensively, Powell said, and having TVs available helps occupy convicts' leisure time.
In other campaign developments Monday:
The Terry campaign continued its "tapegate" attack, as state Democratic Chairman Mark Warner accused Allen aides of lying about how they obtained a copy last week of a Terry TV ad that apparently never was aired.
Warner urged Allen to reprimand whoever in the campaign procured the commercial. And he pressed reporters to question Allen aggressively on the subject, saying it "raises serious questions about the integrity of his campaign."
Aides to Allen have told several conflicting stories about how their campaign obtained the commercial, which accused Allen of trying to steal credit due Terry for a state law permitting the seizure of drug dealers' assets.
The Allen camp attacked the ad Friday morning, telling reporters it had first aired just a few hours earlier. Warner noted that the room where the news conference was conducted had been reserved by Allen aides the day before, indicating they already had the ad in hand.
Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe insisted Monday that the commercial was aired Thursday in Hampton Roads, though representatives of local stations said it was not. And the Allen camp had inside help in obtaining the tape, he asserted.
"There is definitely a leak within the Terry campaign . . ." Stroupe said. "Every time Mary Sue Terry goes up with a new ad, there is information that comes out before. . . . Because of their bragging, and because their tongues are loose, we always know about this information."
A group of women supporting the re-election of Lt. Gov. Don Beyer held news conferences in six cities. Beyer, a Democrat, is opposed by Republican Mike Farris, a Loudoun County lawyer and home-schooling advocate.
Beyer "is the real family values candidate," Del. Jean Cunningham, D-Richmond, said at the Capitol. "By contrast, Michael Farris is an extremist who would set us back a generation."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB