Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
Robb, visiting the Oceana Naval Air Station and a nearby elementary school with Navy Secretary John Dalton, wouldn't disclose the content of the still-unfinished commercial, but he said it probably wouldn't mention North.
``You want to give people a positive reason to vote for you,'' the Democratic incumbent said. ``And if you're unsuccessful in getting that message through the free media, sometimes you have to use the paid media.''
Robb also held a news conference Thursday with senior citizens angry over North's statement that he would support making Social Security voluntary in the future.
North, meantime, made a campaign pitch to Northern Virginia commuters. Also, candidates filed their final campaign finance reports before the Nov. 8 election.
Standing outside a Manassas train station, North vowed to fight statehood for the District of Columbia and any effort by the Washington city government to levy a commuter tax on the thousands of Marylanders and Virginians who pour into the capital each day.
``The hard-working families of Virginia who work in Washington should not be forced to bankroll the fiscal incompetence of the Washington, D.C., bureaucracy,'' North said.
North also said he ``wouldn't be lap dog for Marion Barry,'' the former D.C. mayor and now the favored candidate to win re-election to the same seat.
Robb said that North's attacks on Washington, a majority-black city, and Barry, a prominent black politician, hinted at racism.
``I think the inference is so clear you don't have to rely on me to make any more inference than you've already got,'' Robb said.
North spokesman Mark Merritt said Robb is trying to attract black votes with that statement. ``He's desperate,'' Merritt said.
Robb said he, his wife Lynda and their three daughters began filming the new ad before sunrise Thursday, before he left Washington with Dalton. ``It was the only time I could get all the family members together,'' he said.
The idea came from the three Robb daughters. ``Our daughters said everybody is telling us that we need to be in a commercial with you,'' he said. ``We're out on the campaign trail.''
He also said that he wouldn't necessarily pull ads that attack North.
``There will probably be comparative ads on some subjects, but I suspect at this point there won't be that many of those left'' before the election, he said.
The National Council of Senior Citizens endorsed Robb at an afternoon news conference, although the group differs with Robb over possible means tests for wealthy retirees.
``We have much greater confidence that Sen. Robb will protect the interests of senior citizens than would Ollie North and his right-wing ideology,'' said Larry Smedley, executive director of the 5 million-member organization.
On Monday, North mused that workers could decide on their own retirement planning if not required to pay into Social Security. He later backed away from that statement, saying he does not support anything that would strand current or future retirees.
The Daily News-Record of Harrisonburg has given its editorial endorsement to North, saying that he is ``most apt to represent this state's best interest during the coming six years.''
``Virginians will want to ask themselves fundamentally whether they favor an expanded or contained role for the federal government in our everyday lives,'' the editorial said. ``If they favor, as we do, reigning in the federal beast, then the choice of Oliver North for the U.S. Senate would seem clear.
``Mr. Robb has voted or taken positions showing him moving sharply away from Virginia's sound philosophy.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB