Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 7, 1995 TAG: 9506070071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Almost a quarter of the money came from brothers Peter and Edward Via, heirs to a fortune left by their late mother, millionaire philanthropist Marion Via of Roanoke.
The strong fund-raising effort by Allen may be unprecedented for an incumbent Virginia governor in the middle of his term, several political observers said Tuesday.
The drive, they said, underscores Allen's determination to topple the Democrats' long-standing domination of the General Assembly. Republicans need gain only three seats in both the House and the Senate to control the legislature for the first time.
Allen is hoping that Republican majorities would enable him to enact tax cuts and other reforms that Democrats blocked last winter.
"The governor believes there's a lot at stake," said Chris Nolen, executive director of the Campaign for Honest Change, a political action committee Allen set up for his fund-raising efforts. "It will be a lot easier with Republican majorities to pass the promises the governor made in his 1993 campaign."
Allen launched his drive independent of the state Republican Party so he could have direct control over how the money is spent. Nolen said the governor hopes to make direct contributions to candidates and help pay for phone banks, polling and advertisements.
Nolen said some of the money also may be used to defray Allen's travel expenses this fall, when he plans to barnstorm for Republican candidates across the state.
Virginia governors traditionally raise money to help legislators from their party during mid-term elections. Before this year, the record is believed to be $125,000 raised by Charles Robb in 1983 to help fellow Democrats.
Nolen - the former Floyd County Republican chairman who previously worked in the campaigns of Fincastle state Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo and Salem Del. Morgan Griffith before going to work for Allen's group - said well over half of the money raised came from a fund-raising dinner the governor held in Richmond last month. The event featured a campaign speech by Allen and a video of the governor's accomplishments during his first 17 months in office.
The Via brothers each gave $50,000 to the campaign. Their contribution made them the largest individual contributors to the committee; Smithfield Foods also gave $50,000. Dominion Resources, the parent company of Virginia Power, and Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest insurer, each gave $10,000. Among those contributing $5,000 was the "VMI Family," who are Virginia Military Institute alumni.
Some information for this story came from The Washington Post.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB