Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Party officials plan in the next two weeks to take ``a traveling road show into communities all over the state, rural and urban, with a heavy minority population,'' said Dave Johnson, executive director of the state GOP.
``We want to ask, `Why don't you like the Republican Party?' - is it a perception problem or an issues problem?'' Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson said he was more disappointed than embarrassed when fewer than 10 blacks showed up for last week's GOP rally at the cavernous Ashe Center in Richmond.
``We are not as far along as we thought we were,'' he said. ``At this point maybe we are not far enough along in the dialogue to have folks come to us,'' he added.
The party, over the signature of state GOP chairman Patrick McSweeney, mailed out 6,000 invitations to the event. It expected at least 200 people to attend.
Johnson said the party was confident enough of its outreach program to plan a similar event a year from now at the Ashe Center.
Mark Warner, the state Democratic Party chairman, said the Republican efforts won't work.
``The reason why they're not successful is that they've got a poor record regarding minorities in this state,'' he said.
He referred to Gov. George Allen's veto last Friday of the motor voter bill, which is designed to increase the number of registered voters.
Johnson said he, McSweeney and Jeff Brown, the party's director of grass-roots development who helped organize the Friday event, would lead the road show.
McSweeney angered some blacks by addressing a ceremony commemorating the Confederate flag and by suggesting that appealing to blacks in the heat of a campaign would not be cost-effective.
Asked if it is a good idea for McSweeney to lead the outreach program, Johnson said, ``To the extent they [minorities] think he is the problem, he should go.''
While last week's event clearly was a mistake, Republicans may be taking the right approach, said Toni-Michelle Travis, an associate professor of government at George Mason University. ``They are going to have to work on a one-on-one basis to build a base of support.''
Robert Holsworth, professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, described last week's effort as ``incredibly naive. You ordinarily don't organize an event in a 6,000-seat auditorium unless you are assured of having 8,000 arrive.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB