Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 4, 1995 TAG: 9509050043
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
When Bill Clinton and George Bush squared off in the 1992 presidential race, a whopping five out of every six registered Virginia voters went to the polls.
In the state's last contest for governor, the 1993 race between George Allen and Mary Sue Terry, close to two out of three state voters cast a ballot.
But the last time Brandon Bell and Madison Marye and Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo and their colleagues in the Virginia General Assembly stood for election, more than half the registered voters stayed home.
This weekend marks the traditional kickoff of the fall campaign season and, if history is the guide, many voters will approach this year's election menu - all 140 legislative seats are on the ballot - with less interest than they show in the price of fall fertilizer.
History stands to be made this year, not repeated, however.
With a swing of just three seats in the House and three in the Senate, Republicans could gain control of the Virginia legislature for the first time this century. Guided by a similar changing of the guard in Washington last winter, voters can spend the weeks before the Nov. 7 election deciding how critically such a change would affect their lives.
In extensive conversations and an in-depth poll of voter attitudes conducted this summer, many Virginians told The Roanoke Times and its sister paper in Norfolk, The Virginian-Pilot, that they were disgusted with partisan politics and cared little whether Democrats or Republicans control the perks of power.
In all, 54 percent of those surveyed in the poll by Virginia Commonwealth University said they agreed with the statement "it does not matter very much whether Democrats or Republicans hold a majority of seats in the General Assembly."
For the next nine weeks, party operatives and many candidates will be trying to convince them they're wrong.
While individual campaigns among the 26 contested Senate races and 72 contested House races will have their own flavor, the overall theme is that - to taxpayers, school children, criminals, the disadvantaged and every other subset of Virginians - it matters enormously who wields power.
"There is a fundamental difference in the way Republicans and Democrats look at government," surmised Scott Leake, director of the Joint Republican Caucus.
Republican control "sure would have made a difference last year," echoed House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, noting a series of partisan disagreements over taxes, education and prison spending.
The challenge for the candidates is to convey what those differences mean in the areas that voters say they care most about. According to interviews and the newspaper-sponsored poll by VCU, that list includes:
An education system that prepares Virginia's children for the 21st century.
Safe neighborhoods in which those children can grow.
Jobs that pay livable wages.
A lean, but progressive government.
At stake, practically speaking, is command of a $32 billion state biennial budget. While the governor and administrators also influence how dollars are spent, the Assembly is a critical partner in dividing the largess.
Broad outlines already are emerging of the tacks the two parties plan to take this fall.
Democrats are trying to stake a claim as the defenders of the state's public education system and the architects of a state tax structure that is among the least burdensome in the country.
They are distributing handouts noting that Virginia ranks 49th out of 50 states in state tax burden as a percentage of personal income and is one of only five states with a AAA bond rating.
"Democrats are absolutely and completely clear that whether the outcome is economic development, safe streets, welfare reform or a community with fewer threats from drug abuse or youth violence, the answers are in the schools," added Gail Nardi, the party spokeswoman.
Republicans are starting with a threefold message: that moves toward abolishing parole and curtailing welfare will be in jeopardy if the Democrats retain power; that the GOP stands for accountability in public education, and that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to rein in waste in government spending.
Closely linked to all three is the GOP argument that the election is a referendum on the policies of Republican Gov. George Allen, whose far-reaching agenda in the 1995 Assembly session was largely undone by the Democratic majority.
"It's not so much about control as about having an open hearing instead of a stacked deck," said Leake. "Is George Allen going to be given a fair hearing and his policies a chance to succeed?"
Even so, Allen and the party may be inching away from at least one earlier proposal - giving all Virginians an income tax cut. "There'll be more emphasis on wasteful spending than high taxes," said Leake.
From Fairfax to Lee County to Virginia Beach, individual candidates will be adding their personal spins to the agendas of their parties. And Virginians, perhaps more than in past years, will have to wrestle with whether to vote based on individual attributes or party affiliation.
Among the loudest citizen pleas as the contest begins is that voiced by individuals such as Brenda Poff, a Floyd County homemaker and school bus driver.
"Every election, they start out talking about `this is what I think about health care, this is what I'm going to do about taxes, this is what I'm going to do for the environment,'" she said, "and then, three weeks later, they've got this mudslinging."
If politicians want to boost participation, she suggested, one key is to stick to issues. "I turn it off," said Poff of partisan bickering, "because it's utterly ridiculous and I think I'm beyond that."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB