Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 22, 1993 TAG: 9311220017
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Never heard of Dan Alcorn?
No problem. That probably means you're not mad at him, either.
In this winter of discontent for Virginia Democrats, that alone is enough to fuel a candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
Chastened by the party's debacle in the governor's race - and suddenly fearful that it doesn't matter who survives the blood feud between incumbent Sen. Charles Robb and Gov. Douglas Wilder for the 1994 Senate nomination, because neither may be strong enough to win next fall - some party leaders have begun scouting for alternative candidates.
Alcorn has gone one step further.
The Northern Virginia lawyer - a 1972 graduate of Roanoke's Patrick Henry High School and a son of the late city school superintendent, Roy Alcorn - says he might run himself.
Why? Why not?
"We have a real vacuum," Alcorn says simply. And he's betting that better-known figures won't jump in. "I think many people of stature are afraid to get into that fight, because they think it will be ugly and they will be deeply wounded. I'm not risk-averse."
After all, he's got little to lose. He may be, as state party Vice Chairman Ken Geroe of Virginia Beach puts it, "a smart young white guy" with an impressive list of civic activities. And for the past eight years, he has been a Democratic chairman, first in Northern Virginia's 10th Congressional District and now in the new 11th District.
Nevertheless, outside of a small circle of state party leaders, nobody much has ever heard of Dan Alcorn. Nor does he have connections to any particular constituency that could be easily mobilized on his behalf.
Politically, he describes himself as a "centrist" and says his two big issues will be restoring faith in government - no surprise there - and upgrading the nation's transportation system, an important but hardly an impassioned cause.
No matter, Alcorn says. Rank-and-file Democrats are fed up with both Robb and Wilder, he says. The catch is just getting the voters to do something about it.
"The most important thing is convincing Democrats they don't have to be afraid to change," Alcorn says. "I think it's a matter of courage."
Many, apparently, are reluctant to take on Robb and Wilder, perhaps for fear they won't succeed - and will be punished for the attempt.
That's not something that dissuades Alcorn.
He's taken them on before. Earlier this year, he made headlines when he warned both Robb and Wilder to muzzle themselves, lest their rivalry hurt Mary Sue Terry's chances for the governorship. Wilder responded by trying to fire Alcorn from his state-appointed seat on the authority that governs National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Alcorn fought back, suing Wilder in federal court - and winning. He offers to show off the court order, almost as badge of honor.
"These people [Robb and Wilder] have no hold over us," Alcorn says. "This is a democratic society. We have power over them. They work for us."
In the two weeks since the election, Alcorn has been phoning party contacts around the state and reports he's "very encouraged" by the response he's gotten. He visited Roanoke recently, ostensibly to attend the swearing-in of U.S. Attorney Bob Crouch, but mostly to hobnob at the reception afterward, which drew a Who's Who of Virginia Democrats.
There is a market out there among disgruntled Virginia Democrats for an alternative candidate. Take Roanoke Mayor David Bowers, for instance. "I'm sorry we've seen our top two Democratic leaders air their dirty laundry and personal squabbles in public," Bowers says. "It's been a disgrace. Maybe somebody should call Gerald Baliles. He was a great governor."
But no one's quite sure how big that market is, or how well-known someone would have to be to satisfy it. Baliles, for one, has taken himself out of the running. So party leaders aren't quite sure what to make of Alcorn's potential bid.
"I think he's got a brilliant mind and a bright future in the Democratic Party," says Scott Bates, former secretary of the commonwealth and deputy campaign manager of Wilder's aborted presidential try. However, "I don't know if this is the time."
Others are more encouraging. "If he really worked at it, he'd be competitive," says Carl Eggleston of Farmville, chairman of the 5th Congressional District.
What would it take for a complete unknown like Alcorn to catch fire? "If it were to happen, it would happen in a year like this," Bates says. "Everything seems to be in flux, and all bets are off."
For now, the Democrats' big decision is whether to hold a convention or a primary to settle what party Vice Chairman Geroe calls "the equivalent of a Texas death match" between Robb and Wilder.
Geroe thinks that decision holds the key for Alcorn and any other long shots who might want to jump in.
"A dark horse, whether Dan Alcorn or anyone else, needs a convention," Geroe says. "A primary is simply too expensive to compete."
But a convention might deadlock and turn to a compromise choice. Geroe says, "There is a school of thought that says a reasonably well-accomplished, but young, white male professional without baggage who can stand up and say, `I'm not Oliver North' is the right candidate."
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