Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 19, 1995                   TAG: 9509190061
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CRANWELL SAYS AVERILL BROCHURE SHOWS HER IDEAS AREN'T `FRESH'

Cranwell said quotes attributed to Averill in one of her campaign brochures are virtually identical to those in literature being distributed by an independent candidate running against a Democratic incumbent in Tidewater.

On an Averill brochure, the Republican candidate declares: "This election is about the future. It's about our children, our neighborhoods, and our Commonwealth. Let's work together to give our children the future they deserve."

The same quote appears on literature being distributed by Frank Slayton, a former Democratic legislator now running as a conservative independent against state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, D-Norfolk.

On an Averill brochure, she states that "as a mother of two, I know involvement by parents, teachers and principals is the most important resource in educating our children."

Slayton's literature he says the same thing, except he substitutes the phrase "as the father of three and grandfather of four."

Several other portions of the brochures also repeat the same phrases word-for-word.

Cranwell noted that Averill has claimed she represents "fresh ideas."

"People have a right to know whether the ideas they're being asked to vote for are her own or someone else's," he said at a news conference. "Are these the canned ideas of some unknown origin?''

Averill retorted that she's the one who's being ripped off, although she said she was "flattered" that others share her conservative philosophy. She said her brochure "was prepared by my consultant, but I signed off on it." One of her consultant's staffers quit and went to work for Slayton's campaign, where he apparently used the same material, she said.

The staffer in question, Jack Rohrer, admitted he worked on both brochures. "I wouldn't say `ripped off' exactly," he said. "I'd say the candidates are very similar philosophically."

Virginia Tech political analyst Bob Denton said the duplication of brochures "is the kind of thing that gives candidates a bad name," by making them seem fake.

However, he said the real key to the flap was Cranwell's attempt to define Averill as a puppet of the governor or of her campaign advisers.

"He's trying to reduce her credibility," Denton said.

Keywords:
POLITICS