Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 14, 1995 TAG: 9507140034
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
David Jones Jr., Vinton
The background:
Gov. George Allen, a Republican, has advanced a distinctly conservative agenda that has put him in direct conflict with the Democratic majority in the General Assembly.
During the 1995 session, the Democrats, led by House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County, killed Allen's most high-profile priorities - tax cuts, spending cuts, returning lottery proceeds to localities, issuing more than $400 million in bonds for prison construction, and the establishment of experimental "charter schools" within the public school system.
Because of that showdown, many leaders in both parties are framing this fall's legislative elections as a referendum on Allen's agenda.
The General Assembly's role:
The executive proposes, the legislature disposes. Allen will be looking to the General Assembly to approve his programs during the remaining two years of his term.
The answers:
The question was directed to the candidates for the House of Delegates seat covering the Stewartsville-Montvale region of Bedford County, a swath of Roanoke County from Clearbrook to Vinton to Catawba, southern Botetourt County and Craig County.
Del. Richard Cranwell (D): Says he's supported Allen when he thinks the governor is right and opposed him when he thinks he's wrong. Cranwell points out that he backed Allen's proposal to abolish parole and to make refunds to federal retirees who the courts ruled had been wrongly taxed.
But Cranwell says much of Allen's fiscal agenda has been bad for Virginia. "When the governor proposes significant budget cuts, significant tax cuts and proposes borrowing money for the tax cuts, the plan he proposed makes no sense in a low-tax state," Cranwell says. "We have a fundamental disagreement on this issue. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to agree with him in the future" on other issues.
Trixie Averill (R): Says she is in "complete agreement" with Allen's philosophy. "I would like to work with the governor. ... I do not plan on playing the role of an obstructionist. I feel it's to the detriment of the citizens when there's gridlock between the legislative and executive branches.
"I'm not going to be a rubber stamp, but, by the same token, we should give things a chance. We know what the Democrats' program is - tax and spend. We don't know what our programs can do, because they haven't been put in place."
Also on the record:
The two candidates seem to have different views of the legislature's role.
Averill contends the governor is entitled to a legislature that will enact his programs. "The citizens elected George Allen to do a job," she says. "They knew what his philosophy was and they knew where he was coming from, and the Democrats wouldn't even let it on the floor. Yes, that's obstructionism."
Cranwell views the General Assembly as an independent, policy-making body that often takes the lead in setting priorities. "Our Founding Fathers established three branches of government," he says. "The legislative branch is the policy-making branch and the executive branch is the branch designed to carry into effect the policies enacted by the legislature. ... I think Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry and George Mason were very bright guys for structuring the system."
What other candidates say:
Most Republicans throughout the state have made a point of identifying with Allen's agenda. Democrats aren't. Some, such as John Edwards, who's challenging state Sen. Brandon Bell in Roanoke and most of Roanoke County, are openly running against Allen's programs, contending they'll hurt his locality.
Got a question for the candidates? Send it to Citizens' Agenda, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010, or fax it to 981-3346 or e-mail dyanceyinfi.net. Please include your name, address, daytime phone number and specify for which candidates your question is.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB