Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 22, 1994 TAG: 9411220141
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Robb's press secretary, Peggy Wilhide, said Monday that ``fewer than four'' members of the senator's policy staff are being terminated. Other sources, however, said Robb staffers have been told that more of them could lose their jobs.
Robb has 42 employees, 27 of whom work on Capitol Hill. The others work in regional offices around the state.
``It's not a purge,'' Wilhide said.
``Most offices undergo a few changes at the start of a new term,'' Robb said in a statement. ``And some staff members, thinking about career moves, agree to remain through the end of a term.''
An employee of another winning congressional Democrat scoffed at the idea that any Democrat would quit a Capitol Hill job at a time when hundreds of veteran employees whose bosses lost in the Nov. 8 election are looking for work.
``You'd be crazy to leave voluntarily,'' the staffer said.
During the campaign, Robb was criticized for having accomplished little in policy areas in his first term.
Robb on Monday would not identify the aides who are leaving, saying, ``If we do have any changes to announce, we'll do so when they occur. I don't think it's appropriate to engage in speculation about personnel matters.''
The employees affected have been notified, but all are still on the payroll, Wilhide said.
It was learned that the changes will not affect Robb's most visible aides: Chief of Staff Thomas Lehner, legislative director Ridge Schuyler and press secretary Wilhide.
Replacements for the fired employees have not been named. One of the slots is expected to be reserved for Peter Cleveland, a Robb aide on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He will lose his committee post as the Democrats become the minority party.
by CNB