Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406270135
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: E-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Former Democratic Gov. Douglas Wilder found enough people willing to sign petitions to get his name on the November ballot, if he wishes, as an independent candidate.
Ditto former GOP gubernatorial nominee and Attorney General Marshall Coleman.
On Tuesday, the Senate race will at last get a candidate the way it ought to get candidates: via a primary election that provides an open, convenient procedure for putting decision-making in the hands of rank-and-file Virginians.
There's been only one statewide primary in Virginia since 1977. That was in 1989, when Republicans chose Coleman as their gubernatorial nominee.
This time, it's a Democratic primary, so those who vote in it ought to be Democrats of some form or fashion. In Virginia, lacking registration by party, the definition of a Democrat is vague. But a minimum standard might be that you don't plan to vote for North.
The party arrived at a good decision by a curious route. It was Wilder who pressed for having a primary instead of a convention - but who, after winning the point, announced he wouldn't run. This was surprising at the time, but makes cynical sense retroactively. A few weeks after pulling out, he uncorked his petition drive.
Issues of personality and character are not mere undercurrents in this election; they're a tidal wave.
That's inevitable with a candidate like North in the race. But lingering character questions, stemming from past unsavory activities and abuse of office, also play a part in incumbent Charles Robb's bid for re-election.
Stuck in the ooze, the more traditional task of measuring candidates by their policy positions and proposals tends to sink out of sight. It shouldn't, not completely.
Of the candidates in Tuesday's primary, two - Robb and veteran state Sen. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount - have records as elected officials. Richmond lawyer Sylvia Clute has had public influence in the past, and makes her views clear in detailed position papers. (A fourth candidate, Nancy Spannaus, is a Lyndon LaRouche disciple.)
As a governor from 1982 through 1986, Robb is perhaps best remembered for his initiatives in public education. He pledged to raise average teacher salaries in Virginia to the national average and, aided by a vibrant state economy, he came close to doing so.
Elected to the Senate in 1988, Robb supported the Republican Bush administration more often than most other Democrats, including a vote to confirm Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court. Robb has continued to be a consistent supporter of administration positions - but with the administration now being Democratic, Robb's votes are more like those of other Senate Democrats.
Robb remains more of a budget hawk than most senators, Democrat or Republican. His seriousness about deficit reduction is reflected in his unusually specific support for spending discipline and a higher federal gasoline tax.
Goode, a state senator since before Robb's entry into politics, is nevertheless Robb's junior by seven years; Goode was elected to the state Senate in 1973, at age 27, and the years since have not seemed to dim his popularity in his own district.
Because of legislative votes against gun control, anti-smoking measures and the Equal Rights Amendment, and a reputation for spotting questionable spending items in state budgets, Goode is sometimes characterized as a conservative. An apter label might be rural populist. A full-fledged conservative would not have Goode's record of hostility to state-regulated utilities and cordiality with organized labor.
Clute's views, discussed below, are worthy and refreshing, but she has been less than successful getting them before the public.
The 1994 Senate election looks to give Virginia voters much to sift through. The Democratic primary on Tuesday is their chance to begin the job.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB