Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 4, 1993 TAG: 9312040274
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROB EURE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
James - who was born in Portsmouth, grew up in a Richmond public housing development and served in the Bush administration - is known as a strong opponent of abortion rights.
The announcements - Allen's first Cabinet appointments - are subject to legislative approval, James said her top priority will be enactment of Allen's proposed welfare reforms which would require welfare recipients to train for and secure work or lose benefits after two years. which has been routinely granted in the past.
James' nomination is likely to stir controversy, however.
James is a former spokeswoman for the National Right to Life Committee. Since January, she has been senior vice president of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., an anti-abortion group dedicated to conservative moral issues.
James said her top priority will be enactment of Allen's proposed welfare reforms. During the campaign, Allen outlined a plan for "workfare," encouraging welfare recipients to train for and secure work or lose benefits after two years. James said the proposal "focuses on meaningful and compassionate reform which re-establishes the value of work."
James said she sees her upbringing in a segregated society and in a public housing development as "nothing more than a prerequisite for this job."
James, who lives in Great Falls, left the White House in January at the end of the Bush administration, in which she was associate director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. She served earlier as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Resources.
James is a member of the Fairfax County School Board and the National Commission on Children. She is a graduate of Hampton University.
Thomas, 33, became Allen's director of transition after the campaign.
Long active in Republican campaigns and in service to GOP officials, Thomas worked for Allen in his congressional office. He also is a former head of the Virginia Right to Life Foundation.
Thomas was born in Brunswick County and lives in Chesterfield County.
The secretary of administration is responsible for management of the state's 100,000 employees and general government operations.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***