Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 11, 1995 TAG: 9510110065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
Goode, of Rocky Mount, scored 94.1 percent on the legislative scorecard the coalition released this week, outranking 15 of the Senate's 18 Republicans.
Only GOP Sens. Stephen Martin of Chesterfield and Kevin Miller of Harrisonburg, who had perfect 100 percent scores, and Chesapeake's Mark Earley, with 94.4 percent, voted more in line with the agenda of the political education group founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.
``If I were asked to choose any Democrat who would come out tops in this list, it would be Virgil Goode,'' said Mark Rozell, a state political analyst who teaches at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg.
Goode was the most prominent Virginia Democrat to challenge Charles Robb's U.S. Senate renomination in last year's primary. He is ``one of the most conservative Democrats in the state legislature - some would say an anomaly in his party,'' Rozell said.
Goode is running unopposed in his legislative district.
Mike Russell, a spokesman for the Chesapeake-based coalition, said Goode's solid rating shows the organization lives up to its nonpartisan claim.
``We're not interested in whether it's an R or a D or an I after your name,'' Russell said. ``We're interested in how you vote on issues affecting the family.''
But for the most part, the ratings reflected high scores for Republicans and low numbers for Democrats. The votes that were evaluated include parental notification of abortions for teen-agers, welfare reform, casino gambling, elected school boards and voluntary school prayer, among others.
In the House, 15 lawmakers - all Republicans - got 100 percent scores. The most prominent among them was Del. Vance Wilkins of Amherst, the House minority leader.
In contrast, the highest scores for House Democrats went to Dels. Vic Thomas of Roanoke at 75 percent, Joseph Johnson of Abingdon at 64.7 percent and Earl Dickinson of Louisa County at 61.1 percent.
House Speaker Thomas Moss of Norfolk had a 29.4 percent Christian Coalition rating, near that of House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County, who got 23.5 percent.
The two lowest-scoring House Republicans, at 50 percent, were Dels. James Dillard of Fairfax and Anne Rhodes of Richmond. The coalition gave zeros to three House Democrats - Dels. Alan Mayer of Fairfax, and William Robinson and Jerrauld Jones, both of Norfolk.
The organization's two Senate zeros went to Democrats Henry Marsh of Richmond and L. Louise Lucas of Norfolk. Hunter Andrews of Hampton scored 16.7 percent.
All of the Senate's 18 Republicans scored better than 50 percent. The lowest were H. Russell Potts of Winchester at 55.6 percent, and Robert Calhoun of Alexandria, Warren Barry of Fairfax and Jane Woods of Fairfax, all at 61.1 percent.
``It's not surprising that the Republicans who fared poorly in this rating come from the Northern Virginia region, which tends to be socially more progressive than the rest of the state,'' Rozell said.
Each election year, the coalition distributes scorecards or comparisons to show how candidates stand on the organization's agenda. Approximately 100,000 of the scorecards will be distributed statewide, Russell said.
by CNB