ROANOKE TIMES

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

DATE: FRIDAY, November 3, 1995                   TAG: 9511030066
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


DEMOCRATS COMPLAIN ABOUT GOP TACTICS

The Montgomery County Democratic Party chairwoman took her Republican counterpart and House candidate Larry Linkous to task Wednesday for campaign tactics.

Lindsay West released letters she sent to Linkous, who is opposing Del. Jim Shuler, and Montgomery Republican Chairman Dave Nutter.

"I have been disappointed in the recent ads and statements which misrepresent and distort the facts or attack the personal integrity of candidates and their offices," West wrote Nutter.

Nutter on Thursday called the letters a cheap political stunt coming out at a time when polls show a growing surge for Republican candidates.

West, a former member of the Board of Supervisors, singled out four races: Republican commonwealth's attorney candidate Joey Showalter's use of a private letter to criticize incumbent Phil Keith; ads run by commissioner of revenue candidate Helen St. Clair and her boss, Treasurer Ellis Meredith, against Democratic candidate Nancy Miller; and ads used by state Senate candidate Pat Cupp; and House challenger Linkous.

West did not mention the Montgomery sheriff's race or the three contested Board of Supervisors races.

"The issues are the voting records of Senator Marye and Delegate Shuler and the basic competence of Nancy Miller and Phil Keith," Nutter responded. "We've run the campaign on issues."

West wrote Linkous that the content of his campaign's "Jeopardy" parody radio commercial is "inaccurate and false." She challenged Linkous to say who researched the commercial and its claim that teachers "have to join a union" in order to teach, something she said is inaccurate.

Linkous said Wednesday he was not going to respond to West's letter. He said he pulled the commercial in question off the air some two to three weeks ago.

Nutter challenged West and her candidates for a final debate if they want to hash the issues out once again.



 by CNB