Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 25, 1995 TAG: 9504250086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
Oliver North raised a few eyebrows last fall when voters learned that most of his multimillion-dollar war chest came from out-of-state contributors. But in U.S. Senate races, national fund raising is an accepted practice.
In Bedford County, however, sheriff candidate and international security consultant Mike Brown also has parlayed his contacts across the nation into big bucks for his campaign.
Campaign spending reports filed last week show that, through March, the Republican had raised $11,000. More than half of that came from two contributors in California and Ohio, one of whom is a bulletproof-vest manufacturer.
Only one of the 17 people who gave Brown $100 or more listed a Bedford County address. Fourteen others gave various in-state addresses, from Lynchburg to Virginia Beach.
State law requires candidates to report the name, address and occupation of anyone contributing $100 or more.
Brown's top contributor was Marvin Winkler, president and CEO of California-based American Marketing Works, a sportswear manufacturing company. He donated $5,000. That's about as much as Sheriff Carl Wells estimates he spent campaigning over his entire 20-year career.
Top-Line USA, an Ohio-based manufacturer of bulletproof vests, gave Brown $1,000 in cash and about $300 worth of campaign banners.
Brown's opponent, independent Doug Maynard, reported he had raised about $9,000. Maynard and his campaign committee contributed half of that. The rest came from contributors in Bedford County, Roanoke and Lynchburg.
Sheriffs and former sheriffs from around the region have said that, in terms of fund raising, this year's Bedford County race exceeds anything they've seen before.
The race promises to keep folks in Bedford County talking until November, but why do people outside Virginia care who gets elected sheriff there?
"Mike is an excellent guy," said Hank Atkins, president of Top-Line USA. "I've known him for a long time, and there's no one else in the country I'd like to see more in a job like that." Brown has done work for Top-Line, and Atkins says he considers him a friend.
The same goes for Winkler, who Brown says also is a friend for whom he has done security consulting.
Former Roanoke state Sen. Ray Garland is the only Brown contributor who listed a Bedford County address. Garland, who moved to Bedford County a few years ago, says he hasn't met Brown and doesn't know anything about him. He said he contributed at the request of local Republican Party leaders. Brown is seeking the Republican nomination.
"Really, we haven't started to raise money through the normal channels, yet," Brown said. He has primarily targeted friends and acquaintances, he said, hence his many contributions from outside Bedford County.
Since the end of March, Brown said, he has raised another $7,000, bringing his total campaign funds to $18,000. Much of that came from Bedford County residents, he said.
Maynard said he now has raised a total of $12,000. "Our committee members are fund raising from people we know. These are citizens who know me, who trust me, and who have encouraged me to run. These are the people that are supporting me. I don't have any big pockets to dig into."
Maynard's contributors include Bedford County Supervisor Gus Saarnijoki and Fred Baldwin, a member of the Planning Commission.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB