ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE AND ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITERS
House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, single-handedly delayed the passage of a sweeping juvenile justice package until the last moment of the 1996 General Assembly session.
Republicans ascribed all sorts of motives and accused the Democrat of holding the bill "hostage.''
But Cranwell said he held up the bill to make sure Republican budget negotiators kept their word to put $14 million into prevention and rehabilitation programs.
He said Republicans had shaken hands on another provision Saturday night, only to change their minds the next morning.
"It used to be in this process that if someone told me something would happen, I'd put it in the bank," Cranwell said. "I don't have the same warm, fuzzy feeling anymore."
When a House-Senate panel on juvenile justice met Sunday afternoon, Cranwell refused to put his signature on the final compromise until he could read the fine print on the budget.
"I'm going to have to see it," Cranwell said. "I'm like a kid at the circus who is too short to see the elephants. I can hear them, and I know they're there, but I can't see them."
Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, retorted, "You are the circus, and we're having a good time watching you."
Shoe's on other foot
Turnabout is fair play, but don't tell that to House Democrats.
Del. William Robinson, D-Norfolk, complained that one of his bills was killed on a party-line vote in a Senate committee controlled by Republicans.
When asked if that is exactly what Democrats had done to Republicans for years, Robinson replied, "Yes, and I don't like it."
House Republicans, however, were delighted that their Senate brethren shared a piece of the action.
Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, recalled that he nearly got choked up the first time he appeared before a Senate committee headed by a Republican.
"I got chill bumps up and down my spine," Griffith said.
Tellin' tales
Things were getting a bit silly in the Senate on Saturday night, when it became obvious everyone had to stay a few extra days and wait for the budget negotiators to negotiate.
The debate over a bill to help a small nursing home planned for Grayson County decayed to a quibble over the width of highways in Southside Virginia.
Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount, led the opposition, with this retort: "It's not inconvenient getting from Independence to Galax; what's inconvenient is getting to Independence. Once you're in Independence, it's easy getting to Galax. There's no mountain between Independence and Galax."
Never one to walk away from a good laugh, Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, joined the debate, saying the bill would simply help "the little boys."
"It pains me, Mr. President," said Marye, hand on his heart, "to find out after all these years that the senator from Franklin County is a closet big-boy supporter."
And all that talk of rural highways reminded Marye of a story about a woman in his district who lived alone in the hills. Her kitchen caught fire one day, and she called the fire department to come put it out.
"Well, how do we get there?'' the fireman asked, as Marye recounted.
The woman responded, "Ain't ya still got that red truck you drive around in?''
Woodrum the impersonator
The silliness extended to the House Democratic Caucus, where members killed time Saturday night waiting for a budget agreement.
Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke, entertained the troops with an impersonation of Republican Attorney General Jim Gilmore, a get-tough-on-crime proponent.
Woodrum fielded questions from Del. Glenn Croshaw of Virginia Beach, who was playing the roll of news anchor Tom Brokaw.
Brokaw: "What do you think of the weather?''
Gilmore: "Build more prisons."
Brokaw: "What about Bosnia?''
Gilmore: "Get tough on crime."
Brokaw: "What about the budget?''
Gilmore: "Get tough on juveniles."
Woodrum brought the house down with a final flourish in which he impersonated Gilmore praising a bill that cracks down on juvenile offenders.
"Our Lord knew what he meant when he said, `Suffer the little children.'''
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB