Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 9, 1995 TAG: 9510090081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Vern Jordahl says he votes for the candidate, not for the political party, but he realizes his lawsuit against the Virginia Democratic Party might cause some voters to conclude he's a Republican.
That could hurt his campaign for the Roanoke County School Board, Jordahl said, but the federal lawsuit was not triggered by partisan issues and he's not running a partisan campaign.
All school board candidates run as independents because state law prohibits political parties from nominating candidates for the post.
Jordahl said some voters' perception of him might change because some conservative groups are involved in the litigation. But he said he is not aligned with them, even though he describes himself as "committed to conservative, pro-family values."
In his campaign for the Cave Spring District seat on the School Board, Jordahl has aligned himself with conservatives on several issues. He has criticized the state's sex-education program, complained that unlicensed guidance counselors in schools have practiced psychotherapy, opposed the Goals 2000 school reform program, and expressed support for student and clergy prayers at high school graduations.
Jordahl is a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke against the state Democratic Party and state election officials because conservative groups were stopped from passing out "voter guides" three times in the past five elections.
The suits were filed by the Virginia Society for Human Life and two people who maintain that a state law requiring them to register as "political committees" is unconstitutional. The first suit, by the society, wants the Democrats prohibited from stopping the distribution of voter guides before next month's election.
The second suit - filed by Jordahl, who says he is a member of the Virginia Leadership Council, and Mary-Beth LaRock of Loudoun County, a member of the conservative Christian group Concerned Women for America - seeks damages and attorneys' fees for the losses they say were incurred when they were prohibited from passing out their guides.
Jordahl said he is not affiliated with the Society for Human Life or the women's group; they just have the same complaint.
Jordahl declined to provide information about the Virginia Leadership Council. The American Association of Retired Persons has a state board known as the Virginia Leadership Council, but Jordahl said that was not his group of the same name.
Jordahl said his group was stopped from passing out voter guides during the 1989 gubernatorial race between Democrat Douglas Wilder and Republican Marshall Coleman. The guide provided information on the candidates' positions on issues but did not endorse either candidate, he said.
He said the lawsuit has been "smoldering for about two years and is totally unrelated" to his School Board campaign.
"I don't see myself as being partisan - 1989 was then, and this is now," he said. "I don't have any animosity toward Democrats, and I have some friends who are running for offices as Democrats."
Carol White, one of his opponents, said that Jordahl seems to be turning the School Board election into a partisan contest.
"Maybe as a School Board candidate, he should have distanced himself from the issue," she said.
White said she has the impression that Jordahl is an "ultra-conservative," but she said she will focus on her qualifications and let voters decide for themselves.
William Irvin, the third Cave Spring candidate, said he believes that the lawsuit "shows where [Jordahl's] loyalties are" and could influence voters.
"I think it shows his conservative agenda, and, depending on the perception of voters, it could hurt or help his campaign," Irvin said. "I'm not aligned with either party, and I'm not on either extreme."
Jordahl, a professor of medical and biomedical ethics at the College of Health Sciences and a part-time minister, has said he agrees with the Christian Coalition on some issues but he is not affiliated with the organization.
He is a former chairman of the department of philosophy and religion at Roanoke College.
During the School Board campaign, Jordahl has made no effort to conceal his conservative views on such issues as the sex-education program, which, he said, has been a waste of taxpayers' money.
He said the program should be eliminated in some school systems and modified in others, including Roanoke County, where he said children are not being taught about state laws regulating sexual behavior.
The sex-ed program generally does not teach pro-family values, he said.
Jordahl also favors voluntary prayers in school, including student and clergy prayers at graduation, although he said the question is now moot.
"It has been a long tradition that pastors, priests and rabbis invoke the blessings of God on graduating classes," he said. "Ours is a pluralistic society that guarantees freedom for or of religion, not freedom from religion."
Jordahl also supports the Allen administration's efforts to impose restrictions on guidance counselors' work with students and to prevent the counselors from dealing with issues other than academics and career choices.
Guidance counselors are using experimental methods with students without voluntary or informed consent from parents, Jordahl said.
He also believes that the schools should help develop patriotism in children. The Pledge of Allegiance should be said by every child on a regular basis, he said, and patriotic songs should be known and sung.
Keywords:
POLITICS PROFILE
by CNB