Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9511010027
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The problem is his punch lines, taken out of context and politically coated, can be used against him by someone ambitious and mean enough.
Republican Pat Cupp, a Blacksburg real-estate developer, has made a practice of this in his campaign to unseat the 21-year incumbent.
Cupp, for instance, has dredged up a comment Marye made years ago as an obvious joke, and quoted it out of context to suggest that Marye is an enemy of gun owners' rights. Not true.
Worse, Cupp has used occasional misstatements of trivial matters by Marye - was it at homecoming or graduation that a past governor insulted Tech? - to suggest, sub rosa, that the 69-year-old Democrat is slipping mentally and isn't on top of the issues. Cupp ought to be ashamed of this tactic.
The Republican also charges that Marye has been ineffective, never sponsoring or getting passed significant legislation. Perhaps he confuses effectiveness with partisan bombast.
In fact, Marye is the author of the state law prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors - a law that may have saved as many lives as any enacted in Virginia in this century. It was passed with little opposition and no fanfare, because Marye's colleagues recognized it was eminently sensible. It is hardly insignificant.
Not on top of the issues? Marye is chairman of the Senate General Laws Committee that has jurisdiction over bills pertaining to dozens of important governmental matters, including the state's lottery, its retirement system, its procurement system, consumer affairs, freedom-of-information and privacy laws.
He has regularly championed the interests of Virginia Tech and Radford University in his district, and - on issues of prime importance to all of Southwest Virginia - he has been a consistent advocate for improving roads and public schools.
Cupp, incidentally, drew a blank in an interview when asked about the Omnibus Education Act, which the legislature passed this year. That measure, intended to reduce school-funding disparities among local school districts, has been one of the most widely discussed in the current legislative races. Can it be that Cupp is not on top of the issues?
The businessman, an official in the Realtors' political action committee, has been pouring huge amounts of cash into his campaign. Marye, on the other hand, has been one of the few voices in the legislature supporting meaningful campaign-finance reform, intended to wrest control of the political process from special interests and moneyed groups and return it to average citizens.
Marye is probably best known for his trademarks: longtime sponsor of a bottle bill, master spinner of colorful yarns. But more than this, he's an honest lawmaker, endowed with common sense and courage, who has served his constituents well. He should be re-elected.
Keywords:
POLITICS ENDORSEMENT
by CNB