Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 2, 1994 TAG: 9404040186
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG NOTE: STRIP LENGTH: Long
Jeff Stein put aside his copy of The New Yorker magazine to size up the gangly politician who'd just paused at the stoop of his 19th century apartment building.
``What do you stand for?'' pressed Stein before signing the petition that would put state Sen. Virgil Goode on the ballot for the Democrats' U.S. Senate primary on June 14.
Back home in Franklin County, Goode is known for oratory that can lift the rafters on a camp meeting revival, but last week he eyed Stein with quiet, Sunday school politeness.
``Balanced budgets,'' offered Goode.
``And what else?'' groused Stein, clearly unsatisfied.
``Antiques?'' suggested Goode, in deference to the pre-Civil War surroundings.
``I'm for democracy, so I'll sign to get you on the ballot, but I think you'd better work on your platform,'' Stein concluded.
So it went as Goode was initiated into a process that is part tedium, part fun and part insult - but all nitty-gritty politics. Requiring candidates in statewide elections to get signatures from one-half of 1 percent of the state's registered voters is an idea designed to weed out kooks and crazies.
But in a year when talk is rife of independent and last-minute candidacies, coming up with those 14,865 signatures could wind up being far more than an irritating technicality. It could, in fact, help settle which Virginian goes to Washington.
Consider, for instance, the case of former Gov. Douglas Wilder. Two weeks ago, Wilder tossed out an invitation to anyone eager to see his name on the Democratic primary ballot. Start a petition drive, he suggested.
So far, no one's picked up the gauntlet - and even Wilder acknowledged last week that it's getting late to meet the primary's April 15 petition-filing deadline. Wilder's access to African-American churches gives him a ready pool of voters, but he has only two Sundays left to tap that source.
Wilder still could run as an independent, however. Independent candidates don't have to file their petitions until June 14, the date of the Democratic primary.
That second deadline is crucial to another scenario - the prospect raised last week by U.S. Sen. John Warner that one or more independents would jump into the Senate fray if Republicans nominate Oliver North and Democrats pick incumbent Charles Robb.
Here, timing becomes critical. Because the primary and the filing deadline for independents both are on June 14, Robb's Democratic critics don't have the luxury of waiting to see whether he is nominated before mounting an independent campaign.
Republican critics of North have at least a narrow window of opportunity. Republicans will nominate their Senate candidate in a June 3-4 convention. If North wins, disgruntled individuals will have 10 days to amass signatures and file petitions for an independent candidate.
``Impossible,'' responds Jacqui Gresham, who has been working since January on the petition drive of Richmond attorney Sylvia Clute.
Clute, Goode and Robb are seeking the Democratic nomination. Thus far, the only candidate who has filed petitions in that race is Nancy Spannaus, a perennial candidate and backer of political extremist Lyndon LaRouche.
Richmond broker Jimmy Wheat, a Republican financier and activist, agrees with Gresham that picking up 14,865 signatures in 10 days would be a Herculean feat - one complicated by the fine print in the law. All the signers must be registered voters, and each of the state's 11 congressional districts must produce at least of the 200 signatures.
Also, the person distributing the petitions must live in the same congressional district as the person signing the form, or in an adjacent district. And separate petitions must be circulated for each locality. If the city or county is split between two congressional districts, there must be a sheet of paper for each district.
``If any group wants to put up a third candidate, they're going to have to have their ducks in a row before June 3,'' Wheat predicted. If North wins the nomination, his critics may need to begin collecting signatures from irate Republicans as they leave the convention, he said.
``They'll be sitting there with petitions is my guess,'' he said.
The complications were clear as Goode and a small group of backers worked Fredericksburg's main street last week. They carried four sheets of paper: one for Stafford County voters, one for Fredericksburg's and two for Spotsylvania County's. Spotsylvania is split between the 1st and 7th congressional districts, so residents had to know their congressional district number before signing.
``Oh, Jiminy Christmas. I have no idea,'' said Colleen Allen, the office manager at a cable television station, when asked which form she needed.
Some people eagerly signed Goode's form. ``If I have to vote for Chuck Robb or Oliver North, I think I'll not vote this year,'' said Kathryne Mitchell, who was clerking at one store.
But some others shook their heads when asked to sign. Some shoppers were from out of state. And some preferred not to list their name, address and Social Security number for a stranger. In all, Goode collected about 14 signatures in a hour.
``It's incredibly unwieldy,'' agreed Gresham. Clute's supporters picked up about 110 signatures per hour at a Metro stop in Northern Virginia, but they got only about a half-dozen an hour outside a Richmond grocery store, she said. In each case, there's a danger that those signing up are not registered to vote, or that they get on the wrong list.
Consequently, most candidates try to collect several thousand extra signatures as a cushion against some names being thrown out.
On that score, Democrats may have an easier time than independents. The reason is that the Democratic chairman will check the lists for accuracy in the Democratic primary; the State Board of Elections will review the petitions of independent candidates. (Candidates at the Republican convention do not have to put up signatures because their names are not going on a statewide ballot).
Many people believe that party chairmen are likely to certify candidates who appear to have made a good-faith effort by collecting up to 20,000 or so names.
And Democratic State Chairman Mark Warner, who has until April 20 to certify his party's candidates, admitted: ``It is technically virtually impossible in a four-day period to check 30,000 to 40,000 signatures.''
Neither Warner nor Michael Brown, secretary of the state Board of Elections, could say what will happen if one candidate challenges another's names.
That's up to the party, said Brown.
``We're still defining the process,'' Warner said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB