ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: VIRGINIA JOURNAL
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
The members of the newly-forming Reform Party say they want politics to be practiced differently. The 60 or so folks who gathered this weekend at the state convention of the Virginia wing of the party founded by Texas billionaire Ross Perot accomplished that much, all right.
Instead of a gavel, convention chairman Buddy Holloway of Bristol presided over the proceedings with a meat tenderizer in hand. "After the convention, I'm going to send it to Ross and he can pound some rump with it," Holloway quipped.
After the convention decided to go ahead and put Perot's name on the state ballot now (with the provision they'd replace him if the Reform Party's national convention selects someone else), even the ritual move to make Perot the nominee "by acclamation" caused trouble.
Some convention delegates, unfamiliar with parliamentary procedure, said they didn't know what that meant. When the parliamentarian explained it was a traditional way of declaring the vote unanimous, some delegates rebelled, contending that would "hide" the fact that some delegates wanted to nominate former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, or wait until after the national convention altogether.
The parliamentarian assured them that wasn't the case, but most delegates weren't convinced. In the end, the move to make Perot's nomination unanimous was shouted down on a raucous voice vote, while party leaders shook their head in bemusement.
``This is a free-wheeling bunch,'' said state party chairman Louis Herrink. ``They just said, `OK, we're not going to do it the usual way.' By golly, this is an independent party.''
What's in a name?
A lot, in the eyes of the law. Officially, the party that put Perot's name on the Virginia ballot (if only temporarily) and the party that has nominated three congressional candidates - including in Southside's 5th District and Southwest Virginia's 9th District - is the Virginia Independent Party.
But it considers itself the Virginia branch of the Reform Party, and would like to change its name to eliminate the confusion. But the party won a coveted automatic spot on the Virginia ballot for its candidates under its old name, and party leaders are fearful of doing anything to jeopardize that standing with the State Board of Elections.
So far, the election board hasn't ruled on the name change. So for now, party leaders have opted to present themselves as "the Virginia Independent Party, doing business as The Reform Party of Virginia."
The bottom line for voters: Congressional candidates Gary Thomas in the 5th and Tom Roberts in the 9th are essentially Reform Party nominees.
Also in the running
Don't much like your presidential choices this fall being limited to Bill Clinton and Bob Dole? Virginians may wind up with more candidates on their presidential ballot - although voters will need to take matters into their own hands to make it happen.
While all the hoopla last weekend was over the contest for the Reform Party nomination between Ross Perot and former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, there are some other third-parties trying to get their candidates on the ballot this fall.
The Reform Party is guaranteed a spot on the Virginia ballot, thanks to a legal ruling this year by the State Board of Elections. The others have to circulate petitions statewide and gather the required 15,168 signatures of registered voters by Aug. 23.
The two best-known petition drives are by the Libertarians, whose presidential nominee is author Harry Browne, and the Green Party, whose candidate is consumer advocate Ralph Nader. The Libertarians historically manage to work their way onto the ballot in all 50 states; so far, the Greens have Nader on the ballot in at least nine states.
Want more information? Here's whom to contact:
Libertarians: Call (800)619-1776, or e-mail LPVA@aol.com.
Greens: Call (202)GONADER, or e-mail nader96@vais.net.
Meanwhile, Patrick County college instructor Tex Wood is continuing his petition drive to get on the state's ballot for U.S. Senate as an independent candidate. He can be reached at: 1-800-WOODCAN.
Have questions for the candidates?
Wonder how an issue would affect you or your family? Don't understand something going on in the campaign? Is there information you need to make a decision but haven't seen yet? Let us know so we can follow up.
Write: The Citizens Agenda, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010.
Call Infoline (in Roanoke, 981-0100; in New River, 382-0200) and press 7821.
Fax: 540-981-3346.
E-mail: dyanceyinfi.net
more info on line
Check out our on-line voters guide at: http://www.infi.net/roatimes
Read stories you might have missed. Visit the candidates' home pages to see what they've got to say on their own behalf - and zap them e-mail. Or run your own analysis of the candidates' campaign finance reports.
Are you registered?
The deadline for registering to vote if you're not already on the books is Oct. 7. For more information, call your local registrar or the State Board of Elections at (800)552-9745.
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB