ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 28, 1996 TAG: 9605290018
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
FROM ALL indications, Susan and George Allen are happily married. If Virginia's first lady decided to leave the governor before his term expired, that would be a shock, understandably causing tongues to wag.
But gracious - so many tongues wagging over the recent departure of a handful of Allen administration officials? It all seems a bit much. So does the breathless tabloid style with which some newscasters have reported these departures: ``Another top official flees ...'' ``Allen team jumps ship ... '' Etc.
It's enough to make one fear a plague may have broken out on the state Capitol's third floor.
Let's get real. Allen's management style and policies may have disappointed some, and a few are splitting holding their noses.
But it is not unusual for Cabinet members and other political appointees to depart in the third year of the four-year term of Virginia governors - who, recall, cannot succeed themselves in office.
Most who enter a governor's service keep their resume polished in preparation to move on before the term is up, and the third-year exodus is as common in Virginia as third-year speculation by political junkies concerning a governor's likely successor.
Already, political focus in Virginia has switched from Allen to Attorney General Jim Gilmore and Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, the likely 1997 gubernatorial nominees of their respective Republican and Democratic parties. If either of these men is elected, he is almost sure to want to install his own team, a brand-new team. Top-position holdovers from one administration to another are rare, even when the same party retains control of the governor's office.
So why the surprise that Allen's folks are beginning to submit resignations and leaving the Capitol?
In fact, many won't actually leave. If recent trends are indicative, many of those``fleeing'' the Allen administration will return to the statehouse as high-paid lobbyists. For power players, the revolving doors spin smoothly - but that's a story for another day.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB