ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 15, 1997 TAG: 9701150081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: STUART
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Ran on C-4 in Metro edition.
A Democrat who owns a general store in Patrick County won a House of Delegates seat in a special election Tuesday.
Barnie Day had 55 percent of the vote against Republican Philip Plaster in the 10th House District with all 37 precincts reporting. Day had 4,079 votes; Plaster had 3,399.
The two businessmen are friends who served together on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, and it was a quick and clean race to fill the seat vacated by Roscoe Reynolds, who won a state Senate election Dec.17.
Both candidates said they would push for funding to complete the widening of U.S. 58 in the district and to bolster public education.
The only significant issue that divided the candidates was Gov. George Allen's decision - now reconsidered - to turn down federal Goals 2000 education funds. Day opposed Allen, and Plaster took the governor's side.
Day said his strong promotion of education funding won the election.
``The primary difference was the message. Education is the key to economic development and the key to reducing juvenile crime,'' Day said.
Plaster, who operates a floor covering and furniture business with his wife, resigned from the Board of Supervisors in 1995 to run against Reynolds, then the 10th House District incumbent.
Plaster lost by a wide margin to the Democrat from Henry County, but he got a second shot at the seat when Reynolds defeated Republican Allen Dudley in the special state Senate election last month.
Reynolds replaced Democrat Virgil Goode Jr., who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 5th District.
Day's election gives Democrats a 53-46 House of Delegates majority, with one independent.
Plaster, 58, said he had more name recognition in the finger-shaped rural district, which stretches 110 miles from the outskirts of Galax to the city limits of Danville.
But Day, 44, began campaigning Dec. 19, a week before Plaster.
``We passed each other on the road every once in a while,'' Day said. ``He's a nice guy and a friend of mine. He's done a lot of good work in the area.''
On the issue of Goals 2000 funding, Day said Allen was ``wrongheaded'' and Plaster said ``the governor was right to stand up for his principles.''
But Plaster played down the dispute, saying it became a dead issue when Allen announced last week that the state would accept the funding. Allen refused to apply for the money during the first two years of the program, saying it came with strings attached and would lead to meddling by the federal government.
This was the fourth legislative special election in two months.
On the same day that Reynolds' victory preserved the 20-20 split between the two parties in the Senate, Democrats boosted their majority in the House by winning one of two seats in Fairfax County that Republicans had held.
Democrat George Lovelace defeated Republican Mike Polychrones, and Republican John Rust defeated Democrat Julia Lyman. Lovelace replaced Republican Richard Fisher, who resigned to devote more time to his job, and Rust succeeded Republican Robert Harris, who died.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Day, Plaster. color. KEYWORDS: ELECTIONby CNB