Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 31, 1995 TAG: 9510310116
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Edward and Peter Via, the Roanoke millionaires who had contributed $100,250 to Republican General Assembly candidates Trixie Averill and Newell Falkinburg, now have thrown in $60,000 more, bringing their total to $160,250.
The sons of the late Roanoke philanthropist Marion Via last week sent additional checks to the GOP challengers to House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell and Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, according to campaign finance reports that became public Monday.
The Vias' latest contributions - on top of what already were thought to be the biggest-ever donations in a House of Delegates race in Virginia - prompted renewed charges and countercharges about the propriety of such large contributions and the escalating cost of campaigns in general.
"Is there no end to this?" Woodrum asked. "I was running for election. I never intended to get into a wallet-weighing contest."
Cranwell called attention to the way the Vias' original contributions in early summer were first routed through Gov. George Allen's political action committee. The committee later returned the funds: Such pass-through contributions are illegal under Virginia law because they disguise the true source of the money.
"We now have people who have invested $80,000 each in these races," Cranwell said. "We know they tried to hide their contributions until they were flushed out into the light of day. We still don't know what their secret agenda is."
(In an August statement, Peter Via said his family made the donations because Cranwell and Woodrum had rarely drawn opposition and the Vias "decided public interest would be best served by competitive races in these districts.")
Falkinburg countered that there's nothing wrong with donors who are motivated by ideology rather than business interests. "I don't feel at all bad for taking the money," he said. "I don't feel beholden to the Vias. They're Republicans and I'm Republican. I think they're looking at me with a philosophical perspective. They'd like to see a Republican majority."
The Vias' contributions have helped both Averill and Falkinburg mount financially competitive campaigns against the longtime incumbents - and also have made the two Roanoke Valley House races some of the most expensive in state history.
The latest finance reports, which count contributions through Oct. 25, show:
Cranwell has raised $229,212, while Averill has taken in $201,244. Together, that's $430,456, which breaks the state record for the most money spent in a House race: $376,662 in a three-way contest in Richmond in 1991.
But the Cranwell-Averill race may not go into the books as Virginia's most expensive ever, because there's another House race going on in Newport News this year that's likely to be even more costly.
Woodrum finds himself in the unusual position of an incumbent being outspent by a challenger. Woodrum has raised $159,194 to Falkinburg's $198,295.
Falkinburg said he didn't solicit the Vias' latest donations. "I called John Rocovich [the Vias' lawyer] to solicit some money from him, actually," Falkinburg said. "He said he'd talked to the Vias and said they were concerned we were going to be out-mediaed at the end. He asked if I thought we could use some more money. That's like asking me if the Pope is Catholic. I said anything we could get would be great."
Falkinburg, like Woodrum, deplored the high cost of campaigning. "I offered to cap our campaign spending at $175,000 shortly after the Vias' original donation and [Woodrum] blew that off as campaign rhetoric," he said.
But Falkinburg also said the importance of money in a campaign is sometimes overrated. "You can have a million dollars and your TV looks great, but if you don't have anybody to lick stamps and take the envelopes to the post office, your campaign comes to a screeching halt. You're more beholden to the volunteers than to any contributor. Just looking at the money doesn't give you the full picture."
The Vias are, by far, the biggest contributors to any of the Roanoke Valley campaigns. Edward Via, a comic book publisher, has given $40,250 to Falkinburg and $40,000 to Averill. Peter Via, who identifies himself as a private investor, has given $40,000 to each Republican.
By contrast, the biggest donation to Woodrum this month was $5,000 from the Drive Political Fund, an association of Teamsters union members based in Washington, D.C.
Cranwell's biggest donation was $5,000 from Grand Piano Chairman George Cartledge of Roanoke. The Virginia Trial Lawyers added $2,500 this month, to bring their total to $6,000.
The rest of Falkinburg's report is dominated by money from medical interests who are supporting the Roanoke physician. Two clinics in which he is a partner are his other big contributors - Dialysis Resources has upped its campaign total to $15,000; Valley Nephrology Associates has put in $10,000.
Meanwhile, Averill, a longtime political activist, continues to attract the attention of big-name Republican leaders. The Madison Project, a group set up by home-schooling advocate and former GOP lieutenant governor candidate Mike Farris, gave her $3,681 this month. And GOPAC, a group set up by U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, sent a check for $1,000.
GOPAC's executive director, Lisa Nelson, said Gingrich's group is contributing to about 25 Virginia candidates as a way to not only win a Republican majority in the state legislature but "to build a farm team" of candidates who might later run for higher offices.
"We see Trixie as a very strong and competent candidate, and we'd like to be able to win both the House and Senate," Nelson said.
Staff writer Leslie Taylor contributed to this report.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB