ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601110017
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE AND DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITERS
HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County.
Always one to watch, the fiery House Majority Leader promised after the election that he had reconciled his anger toward Republicans and emerged a more tolerant man. With the defeat of powerhouse Majority Leader Hunter Andrews in the Senate, Cranwell could wield even more might, if that's possible.
Del. Earl Dickenson, D-Louisa County.
The 71-year-old lumber executive takes over as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the panel which handles the budget. Assembly-watchers will be keen to figure out Dickenson's priorities and style. However, on key votes on the floor, he's often been known to look at which way Cranwell is voting before making his decision, so Dickenson's elevation to the budget post could give Cranwell even more influence.
Del. Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst County.
The Amherst County contractor had hoped to open this legislative session as Speaker of the House, leading a Republican takeover. Instead, he's back in his old role as House Minority Leader. Last year, when Gov. George Allen was adopting a confrontational stance with the Democratic-controlled legislature, Wilkins was his point man. Now that Allen's taking a kinder-and-gentler approach with Democrats, how will Wilkins fare?
Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke.
The tart-tongued Woodrum was one of the sharpest critics of the Allen administration last year. Since then, he's faced down an expensive Republican challenger and tried to keep his biting humor in check. Will Woodrum be as outspoken this year?
Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.
Here's a legislator with a real stake in whether 1996 delivers more of last winter's partisan contentiousness. Griffith, unopposed for re-election, spent much of the fall trying to help fellow Republicans by attacking Democrats for the way they've run the House. In particular, he declared that, when Republicans win control of the chamber, Cranwell and other Democratic leaders will be "punished" by being booted off key committees and assigned to the legislative equivalent of exile. Now that Republicans have failed to take over, how will Democrats respond?
Del. Tommy Baker Jr., R-Pulaski County.
This Republican lawyer finds himself in that cozy category of legislators who could be the true deal-closers of 1996 - the centrists. With a tied Senate and a still-precarious majority for Democrats in the House, legislators not afraid to straddle the party line could play more of a role than ever.
SENATE
Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount.
The most-watched legislator of all, at least during the organizational vote on opening day, will be this conservative Democrat from Franklin County. Goode, disenchanted with what he sees as his party's liberal drift and the way he's been treated by colleagues, has advised fellow Democrats he thinks Republicans ought to get some of the committee chairmanships in an evenly-divided Senate. Lately, another conservative Democrat, Charles Colgan of Manassas, has joined in. Together, those two senators could determine who gets chairmanships, and who doesn't.
Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke.
Those fickle Roanoke Valley voters sure seem a demanding bunch, bouncing senators in and out the way they do. Will Edwards be able to deliver what they want? Senate sessions have always been as much bravado as business, even before the 20-20 tie. Not exactly a stand-out-in-the-crowd type of guy, Edwards enters at a time when a big ego could be as compulsory as a suit and tie.
Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville.
Before Senate Democrats elected their floor leader last month, Marye walked into the room and announced that from now on he'd be all business - 12 hour days and no funny stuff. The place busted open in laughter. Marye is easily one of the most beloved of the old-timers, but many expected him to retire this year. He still has the charm, but does he still have the fire?
Sen. Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk.
The mild-mannered Walker has spent years in the shadows as an understudy to Hunter Andrews, who dominated the Senate as both Majority Leader and Finance Committee Chairman. Now Andrews is gone - defeated for re-election - and Walker will succeed him as head of the finance panel, which handles the budget on the Senate side. He won't wield nearly the clout on budget matters that Andrews did and he won't have Andrews' extra clout as party leader; still, anyone who heads a money committee is a key player.
Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax County.
The hard-charging gasoline station owner succeeds Andrews as the Democratic leader in the Senate and bills himself as "Dickie Cranwell lite" - a slogan that gives Republicans pause. Saslaw, however, must first deal with disunity in his own ranks; he's insisted Democrats won't give any committee chairmanships to Republicans and instead will rely on Lt. Gov. Don Beyer to break the 20-20 tie. However, if Goode and/or Colgan defect on the organizational vote, there won't be a tie to break. Saslaw's ability to hold his party together and deal with Republicans will be sorely tested.
Sen. Joe Benedetti, R-Richmond.
Last year, he was Senate Minority Leader. Now, Benedetti prefers the title Senate Republican Leader, as he and his party insist on equal treatment in a Senate divided evenly along party lines. Benedetti had been considered an amiable sort; too amiable for some youthful conservatives who wanted a more confrontational leader. Benedetti, however, stared them down, partly by vowing to take a hard line against Democrats.
Sen. John Chichester, R-Fredericksburg.
The Fredericksburg insuranceman may be best-known as the GOP candidate who lost the lieutenant governor's race to Douglas Wilder back in 1985. Since then, though, Chichester has steadily gained stature and influence in the legislature. He's now the ranking GOP member on the Senate Finance Committee. Even if Democrats keep the committee chairmanship, Chichester's voice will be a more influential one. He's also noted for taking an independent line from Gov. George Allen, openly disagreeing with Allen last year on budget priorities and tactics.
Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle.
Trumbo has become the GOP rules expert and parliamentary point man. In a 20-20 Senate, rules may figure more important than ever before, and Trumbo likely will be in the thick of things, with his dog-earred copy of Robert's Rules of Order. Whenver legislators see him thumbing through the rulebook, they know something's up.
Writers Betty Hayden, Robert Little and Dwayne Yancey contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) all. KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB