Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110117
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The treasurer of Charles City County said Wednesday that Del. Robert Ball threatened to break her legs if she backed his opponent in a Democratic primary. Ball's campaign says he was kidding.
Ball, a 12-term Democrat from Henrico County, is opposed in a June 13 primary by Donald McEachin. In front of several people at a Democratic Party meeting on May 1, Ball told Darlene B. Giles, ``If you work for McEachin, I will break both your legs.'' Then, the two laughed and Ball hugged Giles, witnesses said.
But at a news conference Wednesday, Giles said she interpreted Ball's remark as a threat to use his power as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to harm her career or reduce state funding for her office.
Giles, who has supported Ball in past elections but says she will be neutral in next month's primary, complained of the remarks in a May 4 letter to the state Board of Elections.
Giles wrote that she was offended and considered the comment ``indicative of the lack of respect afforded African-American females.'' Giles, 36, is black; Ball is white.
Asked whether she was suggesting the remark was racially motivated, Giles said, ``It's one of three things, and I'm not sure which one: my sex, my race, or my age, given the fact that I'm half his age.''
Ball's campaign manager, Diana Rollins, said Ball was not available Wednesday for comment. But Rollins called Giles' allegations ``ludicrous'' and said even Giles appeared to take the remark as light-hearted at the time.
``She laughed about it,'' Rollins said . ``They both laughed. Nobody was more surprised than the delegate when she decided to turn this into a political situation.''
But now that Giles has complained, Ball is drafting a letter apologizing for what Rollins called ``a misunderstanding.''
by CNB