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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 8, 1995                   TAG: 9511080062
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-18   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NO MANDATE - EXCEPT TO GOVERN

Revolution, however, was never an option.

Of course, Allen would have seized on a Republican sweep of both houses to claim vindication and a mandate to pursue policies, from tax cuts to charter schools, that he proposed and the Democrat-controlled assembly rejected. Even total victory, though, would have marked the culmination of two decades of Virginian evolution toward Republicanism.

Sure, Washington and much of the country were watching our elections for signs of shifting attitudes toward the GOP political agenda. But an unchanged state House and a split Senate hardly amount to repudiation of all things Republican. Anyone who reads into Democrats' victories a mandate for obstruction or against change is probably a Democrat and certainly mistaken.

Meanwhile, no outcome Tuesday would have changed the fact that Virginia needs, from Richmond, a lot less partisan gamesmanship and a lot more bipartisan leadership.

Despite Allen's best efforts to convert legislative races into a statewide referendum, many Virginians presumably voted not so much to issue a statement as to elect candidates in whom they have confidence.

That's the best reading, anyway, of local results. House Majority Leader Dick Cranwell may be the Democratic anti-Christ in Allen's eyes, but Tuesday's election reaffirms that voters regard him and fellow Democrats Chip Woodrum, Vic Thomas and Jim Shuler as part of an unusually effective delegation - an asset worth preserving as the region loses demographic clout.

Similarly, the defeats of state Sen. Brandon Bell and Senate candidate Pat Cupp may be attributed in part to their partisan link with a governor whose budget plans would have harmed local interests and higher education. Just as likely a factor, though, is voters' comfort level with the victors, popular Vice Mayor John Edwards and veteran lawmaker Madison Marye.

Nothing in these results suggests a desire to have Democrats block the governor and his agenda at every opportunity. More likely, citizens want lawmakers to work with him when consensus and action are called for - and stand up to him when Allen's political ambitions and ideological rigidity get the better of him, as they did in the past session.

As Washington devolves to the states ever bigger chunks of federal programs, from welfare to health care, the scope and complexity of change in Virginia government are sure to grow.

Now, therefore, is a good time for Allen to stop calling Democrats "fat cats, monarchists and dinosaurs," and to disavow his earlier call for Republicans to shove their opponents' "soft teeth down their whiny throats." It's a good time for Democrats to start taking Republicans' rough parity into consideration, in such matters as committee appointments and the fate of GOP-sponsored legislation. And it's a good time for the newly elected of both parties to put aside partisan excesses and get serious about serving constituents.

As for the rest of us, we should be thankful to both winning and losing candidates - for school boards, supervisors and constitutional offices, as well as state offices - for their civic effort. And we cannot help but be thankful this election season is over.