Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 30, 1993 TAG: 9310300164
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Democratic candidate for governor has raked in contributions of an unprecedented size from the Roanoke Valley, a region not known for donating large sums of money in statewide races.
Leading the way: $16,750 from June McBroom of Floyd County and $10,500 each from Heidi Krisch and Sally Fulton, both of Roanoke.
By contrast, Republican George Allen has pocketed few big contributions from the Roanoke Valley.
Yet he has nearly matched Terry's fund-raising total in the Roanoke Valley. Through Oct. 20, Terry raised $86,705 here; Allen took in $74,080.
The reason: While Terry has relied on a handful of big donors, Allen has put together a large base of contributors writing checks of $150 and $200.
While Terry had 34 contributors in the Roanoke Valley who gave $100 or more, Allen boasted 171.
The fund-raising picture in the Roanoke Valley mirrors what has happened statewide.
Terry has sought money from traditional givers in the business community, tapping them for large sums - yet apparently giving little attention to soliciting smaller contributions.
Much of Terry's Roanoke Valley money came this summer at a $5,000-per-couple fund-raiser that attracted such well-known Roanoke business leaders as Roanoke Electric Steel founder John Hancock and Grand Piano Chairman George Cartledge Sr.
At the time, many Democrats billed the event as the biggest fund-raiser ever held in the valley.
Susan Swecker, a Richmond lawyer and Democratic activist who managed last year's unsuccessful Democratic congressional campaign in Roanoke, says Terry has courted the valley's old-line business leaders over many years.
"Roanoke by nature is skeptical of outsiders," Swecker says. "It's skeptical of someone who comes in as the new kid on the block."
By contrast, she says, Terry used her eight years in the attorney general's office to nurture relations in the business community - in Roanoke and elsewhere. "If George Allen didn't get in there and try to make those contacts, I think it would be very difficult for him" to raise those kind of sums in Roanoke, Swecker says.
Betsy Beamer, the Giles County native who is Allen's chief fund-raiser, says Allen started out unknown in most places in Virginia.
As a result, she says, Allen adopted a bottom-up fund-raising strategy.
"One of George's best selling points is he relates well with people," Beamer says. "Early on in the campaign, when he was not as well-known as Mary Sue, we decided to be very event-oriented, so we started off having events wherever we could."
These receptions served both to introduce Allen to Republican activists and to drum up whatever small contributions were available. "That has brought us a very broad fund-raising base," she says.
Allen's fund-raiser suggests that Terry has missed a chance to raise even more money by targeting small donors. "We didn't have the Cartledges or Mr. Hancock, but four $250 checks still add up to $1,000," Beamer says.
A look at the two candidates' fund raising also shows another trend: Many of what passed for big contributions to Allen in Western Virginia came from donors in Lynchburg.
There may be two reasons for this. First, Lynchburg is a solidly conservative city, and the big donors there lean toward Republicans.
"In 1989, [Gov.] Doug Wilder didn't even try to raise money in Lynchburg," Swecker says. "Except for [state Sen.] Elliot Schewel, there's no big Democratic fund-raising base."
Secondly, Beamer says, the Republican donors in Lynchburg signed on to Allen's campaign early - and enthusiastically. It has taken Roanoke's Republican donors a while to warm up to Allen. That has started to change, though, as his standing in the polls has improved, Beamer says.
Want proof? Check the dates of the checks. Many of Allen's big donations from the Roanoke Valley didn't come until October.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB