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

DATE: FRIDAY, December 30, 1994                   TAG: 9501120008
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROBRECHT

AS A member of the House of Delegates for 10 years, Republican Raymond Robrecht of Salem was a pugnacious fighter - as befitted a two-time Virginia Golden Gloves middleweight boxing champion - for this region's betterment and for the things in which he believed. He was highly respected for his intelligence and his integrity by Democrats and fellow Republicans - the latter as apt as the former to be challenged by Robrecht if he thought they were wrong.

His death on Christmas Eve, caused by complications of Lou Gehrig's disease, ended a particularly hard fight. In the past year, he had struggled to maintain his law practice, his involvement at First Baptist Church, and his interest in community and political issues - despite the disease that rendered him unable to speak coherently. (A frequent writer of letters to the editor of this newspaper, Robrecht, as recently as September, penned a letter in defense of labor laws that had come under attack by union leaders.)

Though Robrecht retired from the legislature in 1981, his service there was such that lawmakers, past and present, came or sent testimonials in his praise to a dinner, staged as a surprise party for him, at the Salem Civic Center in October. They said they wanted Robrecht to know that his public service had made a difference. It did.

His efforts in the General Assembly were not trivial - despite his membership in the minority party long before it surged to near-parity with the Democratic majority. While various improvements in state government bear his fingerprints, he may be best remembered for his dogged resistance against what he saw as trends toward an elitist legislature.

Robrecht, for instance, nearly came to fisticuffs with House Minority Leader Jerry Geisler of Hillsville in 1979 when Geisler voted with Democrats to kill a Robrecht bill. It would have reduced legislators' pensions and ended various favored treatments they had granted themselves.

The Salem representative also introduced bills to reduce legislators' salaries and the per-diem expense pay they collect when the assembly is in session. An advocate and protector of the ``citizen legislature,'' Robrecht did not think much of those who lived high on the hog at taxpayers' - or lobbyists' - expense while in Richmond.

(It was his own habit to stay at the old Raleigh Hotel - a hostelry known at the time for its cheap rates, good but cheap food in its one and only eatery, Teddy Deebs' Coffee Shop, roaches in the bathrooms and a cranky heating system. Other legislators from these parts stayed there as well.)

During his tenure in the assembly, Robrecht was also representative of a kinder, gentler, more civilized partisanship than is seen today. He'd slug it out with Democrats, but there was nothing mean-spirited or vengeful in his fighting style. When the '95 session opens on Jan. 11, it would be nice if this attitude were evident in the legislative halls again.

by CNB