Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 11, 1995 TAG: 9509110011
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
John was one heck of a politician.
He had a stately, friendly nature, and a dry, leathery handshake. And he gave impassioned speeches that had people talking long after he'd left the room.
Not everyone agreed with John, but they were inspired by him. He was funny, honest and articulate, and he worked tirelessly trying to get things done.
But John was one lousy legislator.
He didn't know how things in Richmond worked and never really learned, which resulted in a lot of wasted energy. His grandstanding often came off as disrespect, so his colleagues offered little respect in return.
To his fellow legislators, John was effusive and brash. His good ideas didn't matter, because a speech from John was like a cue to use the bathroom.
Citizens can take some relief from the fact that John is a fictitious legislator, not an actual one. Yet he represents what veteran politicos say can be one of the pitfalls of the political process: The qualities needed to win an election don't always match the qualities needed to be an effective lawmaker.
"If you've got some guy who just got elected, who's new, and he's a blowhard who wants to just blame other people for everything, then he won't get very far in the General Assembly,'' said Sam Glasscock, a former Democratic delegate from Suffolk who earned a reputation for even-handedness.
At their most basic levels, the jobs of senator and delegate require very little. Candidates must be willing to spend most of January, February and March in Richmond for the annual session, and sometimes a day or more each week for meetings throughout the year. But otherwise, they need only be 21 years old, qualified to vote, Virginia residents for at least a year and generally devoid of any conflicts of interest.
The catch, of course, is that they also have to win an election, which means convincing voters they can do the job. And that's half the reason academics call politics a science.
In Virginia, people want politicians who are honest, fair and open-minded. In a poll that Virginia Commonwealth University conducted this summer for The Roanoke Times and its sister paper in Norfolk, The Virginian-Pilot, nearly half the respondents said they want politicians who will vote their consciences even if that goes against what their constituents want.
In meetings the newspaper held around the state, citizens repeatedly spoke of wanting a politician who is "real" or "down-to-earth." They wanted candidates who connect with the average Jane and Joe.
People who've done time in Richmond, who've sat in the leather seats and signed their names to the bills, also say those qualities are important for a good legislator.
But they're not always enough.
Good politicians also have to be smart. They have to know the law and how to shepherd something through the legislative process.
And they have to be flexible - firm enough to take a stand, yet reasonable enough to know that sometimes a compromise is better than nothing. That might mean chafing a few constituents, but the alternative is a career as a political dud.
Also, lawmakers must be tenacious and patient. The Old Dominion wasn't built in a day.
"I think over time, the people who had the most success - and the people who were taken the most seriously - were people who had taken some time when they first got there to learn the process,'' said Steve Agee, a Salem Republican who spent 10 years in the House of Delegates.
"They don't have to be lawyers, and they don't have to have experience. But they have to learn.''
Interviews with lobbyists, bureaucrats, former legislators and politicians turned up several criteria that could help distinguish the heroes from the zeros:
Who are their friends?
Politics is not a one-man show. Most laws are the product of compromises negotiated in the hallways and committee rooms.
All the dealing requires honesty, patience and persistence - and healthy respect from your colleagues.
Del. Bernie Cohen, an Alexandria Democrat retiring after 14 years, remembered a legislator who offered a list of facts and figures to plug a business-related bill. After some research, it became apparent the figures were wrong.
"Nice guy, but he developed a reputation for being fast and easy with the facts,'' Cohen said. "No one can work with a guy like that.''
Can they tell politics for the people from politics for the party?
A Richmond lobbyist, who asked not to be quoted by name "for strictly professional reasons,'' recounted a story of a freshman Republican who, early in his term, was high on the lobbyist's list of favorites. The legislator was well liked and knowledgeable.
And he was an irreparable partisan.
"I still have a good relationship with him, but from a lobbying standpoint, I hardly need to waste my time,'' the lobbyist said. "I can almost always predict what he'll like and how he'll vote.''
Said Joan Munford, a former Democratic delegate from Blacksburg: "If we had to vote for things because the citizens wanted us to, that was one thing. But people who always voted for things because that was where their party was going would eventually earn a reputation: someone who doesn't have their own ideas and doesn't get involved in the process.
"I know I should be saying that honesty and integrity are what matters, and, sure, those things are crucial. But in Richmond, you also need a practical person with common sense. Or everything else almost doesn't matter."
Do they care about the citizens, or just themselves?
In the Capitol, like anywhere else, there's no correlation between quantity and quality. The good legislators tackle big issues, often at the expense of some Election Day support. Others play it safe and sign on to sure things.
Said Cohen: "There are certain motherhood-and-apple-pie bills that are always going to be successful, but successful doesn't necessarily mean effective. If you're talking about moving the state forward, you've got to do more than put in all the easy bills and brag about how many you got passed.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB