Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
"While he may not be my 'country cousin,'" Sen. John Warner said, "Mark Warner has earned his spurs in the state Democratic Party and, if nominated, will be a formidable opponent with significant financial resources."
Virginia Beach lawyer Kenneth V. Geroe, a vice-chairman of the state party, is on the short list of candidates to succeed Warner.
Geroe said Wednesday that he had agreed to hold off campaigning for the chairmanship until Lt. Gov. Don Beyer - the party's top elected official - announces his preference.
"The timing of this is that the party does not need a fight for the chairmanship on the eve of the General Assembly elections," Geroe said.
Beyer said he would make his preference known in the next few days.
Other names floated include former Del. Alson Smith of Winchester and Fairfax County Democratic Chairwoman Suzie Wrenn.
The Democratic state central committee will select a new chairman at a meeting scheduled for June 24.
Warner said his departure should not hurt the Democratic Party's bid to hold back a rising Republican tide in assembly elections this fall.
"I am confident that Mr. Jefferson's Party in Virginia is ready for the challenges ahead in 1995 and beyond," he said.
Democrats praised Warner, a cellular telephone tycoon, for helping rebuild the party after Democrats lost the governor's mansion in 1993 and for beefing up the technology at the central headquarters.
"I think those efforts have and will continue to pay dividends down the road," said U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, a Democrat.
by CNB