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

DATE: SUNDAY, October 3, 1993                   TAG: 9310070417
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RUSH, SHULER OFFER DIFFERING VIEWS ON CAMPAIGN ISSUES

Interviews with the 25-year-old Rush and his 49-year-old opponent highlighted some of their differences on economic development, the state budget, education, the ``smart'' road and U.S. 460 bypass proposals, and crime and punishment.

\ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE STATE BUDGET:

Shuler thinks existing businesses and industries create most new jobs, and the legislature must find ways to take care of cumbersome rules and regulations that impede growth. As for the state budget, Shuler said, he would seek to find ways to balance the upcoming two-year budget without making higher education, in particular, take a major hit.

Cutting education funding is shortsighted, Shuler said, since many of the ills that we pay for today in the criminal justice, penal and welfare systems, can be traced to a lack of education in the past.

In general, he said, Virginia has a fiscally responsible state government, as evidenced by its AAA bond rating. ``I don't think we have anything to bow our heads or be ashamed of when it comes to that.''

\ Rush, on the other hand, echoes GOP gubernatorial candidate George Allen when he says Virginia must get its house in order and set priorities on economic development and job creation. It's part of a typical Republican philosophy, Rush said, that the state should have a friendly approach to business that contributes to job creation, which in turn will help grow the economy and provide the increased tax revenue to address social problems.

As for the budget, Rush believes Virginia has to address its spending priorities by reforming the welfare system to encourage families to stay together. The state also should make its top goals improving education, transportation and the criminal justice system. He'll make no commitment against raising taxes: ``I'm not a read-your-lips kind of guy,'' he said.

\ THE ``SMART'' ROAD:

Rush said he supports research into the technology advocates say will improve highway safety. But he favors applying it to a roadway he says the region needs: the so-called 3A link between the Christiansburg and Blacksburg bypasses of U.S. 460. He said he'll do everything he can in the legislature to help Virginia Tech with its educational and research interests. ``But Nick Rush is not a Virginia Tech delegate; he represents the 12th District,'' Rush said.

\ Shuler said he has been advised to be very careful about what he says about the ``smart'' road and the 3A project because of a potential conflict of interest. His Companion Animal Clinic could be condemned to create an interchange between U.S. 460 south of Blacksburg and the proposed bypass link. A state highway engineer said this month that the two projects could be linked because of projected Blacksburg-to-Roanoke traffic flow estimates. In other words, without the ``smart'' road, the scope of the 460 bypass and its interchanges could change.

\ CRIME AND PUNISHMENT:

Shuler ties crime and corrections in with budget problems and education spending. Increased corrections budgets are eating up resources that could be spent on education, which in turn could reduce corrections populations in the future, Shuler said. Instead of spending $80,000 a year per prisoner to build a cell and $18,000 to $22,000 per prisoner to keep them incarcerated, Shuler said, ``We've got to come up with alternative methods of sentencing.''

Those include restitution and community service. But when it comes to violent, repeat offenders, he'd have no problem keeping those inmates locked up for their entire sentence.

Rush, on the other hand, rejects what he considers to be making social engineers out of law enforcement and correctional personnel.

He supports the death penalty, rejects Democratic candidate Mary Sue Terry's proposed 5-day waiting period to purchase a handgun, and thinks Virginia's parole system needs a major reform, with renewed emphasis on punishment. Violent, repeat offenders ``need to be locked up,'' Rush said.

In the long run, he said, locking up the people who commit most of the violent crimes would save money by cutting down on the crime rate and spreading a savings through the criminal justice and medical systems and society as a whole.

Keywords:
POLITICS