ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
Rep. L.F. Payne hasn't made up his mind about whether he's going to run for re-election this year, and the Nelson County Democrat is thinking about leaving Congress, according to one of his aides.
When asked Thursday if Payne is considering retirement, Mark Bowles, Payne's chief of staff, said, "L.F. is undecided as to what his plans are."
Bowles declined to discuss specifics, and said Payne will make an announcement sometime in the next few weeks.
Payne himself couldn't be reached for comment.
Political insiders scattered around Payne's 5th District - which stretches from Charlottesville to Danville and includes Bedford, Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties and the cities of Bedford and Martinsville - say the congressman is tired of the political grind in Washington. They say Payne, 50, has indicated that he'd like to spend more time with his family, and more time developing projects at Wintergreen, the ski and golf resort he owns in Nelson County.
Payne was elected to Congress in a 1988 special election after the death of longtime Democratic incumbent Dan Daniel. During his first six years in Washington, Payne quickly became an influential member, winning a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee - the panel that deals with taxes.
However, with the Republican takeover of the House and Senate after the 1994 elections, Payne dropped from rising star in the majority party to a member of the minority.
Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, whose district overlaps Payne's, said he hasn't talked to the congressman about his plans, but said, "It's tough to be in Washington right now."
The possibility that Payne might retire from Congress also was mentioned in a column in a recent edition of The Washington Times.
If Payne does decide to walk away from Washington, those same 5th District sources are floating the name of a possible Democratic successor: state Sen. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount.
Republican George Landrith, an Albemarle County lawyer who lost to Payne in 1994, has said he plans to seek his party's nomination again this year.
He's not the only Republican whose name has been mentioned in the district. Del. Allen Dudley of Rocky Mount also has been contacted by party organizers.
Dudley said last month that he has no plans to run for Congress at this point.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Payne color KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB