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

DATE: TUESDAY, December 14, 1993                   TAG: 9312140144
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Associated Press and staff reports
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

GOV. WILDER OPPOSES CALL FOR RESIGNATIONS

As veteran state employees continued receiving pink slips Monday from the incoming Allen administration, Gov. Douglas Wilder called on his successor to re-evaluate demands for the resignations of more than 450 state workers, scores of whom are not gubernatorial appointees.

But Gov.-elect George Allen, through a spokesman, said he stands by his demand that the bureaucrats quit now and apply to the new administration if they want to stay at work after Allen takes office Jan. 15.

Allen, who will be the first Republican governor in 12 years, sent "Dear Public Servant" letters to 450 high-ranking state employees last week in which he requested their resignations. He said the move was part of his plan to overhaul state government.

Wilder called the action unfortunate, because the letters were sent to some employees who are not political appointees. They cannot be fired without justification, the governor said.

"Many of those who received the letter are longtime, professional employees who are apolitical," Wilder said in a statement.

He also said Allen's move could hurt the state's highly valued triple-A bond rating.

"As I expect the governor-elect to revalue this action, I ask that those state employees remain calm," Wilder said.

"It isn't anything that the governor-elect needs to re-evaluate," said Ken Stroupe, an Allen spokesman. He said employees who received the letter can be fired without cause, but he added that some may still get jobs in the Allen administration. Stroupe said "a good number" of employees already have sent in job applications.

The governor-elect said employees interested in keeping their jobs should send an application to his transition office by Monday.

Staff writer Bonnie V. Winston contributed to this report.

by CNB