ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 13, 1997 TAG: 9704140088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democrats blasted Gilmore last month when he flew to N.Y. on a Philip Morris plane for a fund-raiser.
Attorney General Jim Gilmore, criticized by Democrats for owning stock in Philip Morris Co., said he has placed the holdings in a blind trust and will keep them there if his bid for governor is successful.
Gilmore, who will resign the day after the June 10 Republican primary to run full time, said he created the trust ``to set a high ethical standard.''
Democrats have accused Gilmore of a conflict of interest for holding the stocks while deciding whether Virginia should join other states in lawsuits against tobacco companies. Gilmore instead filed court papers supporting the companies, but says the holdings have never affected his decisions.
``The positions that I have taken have been on behalf of the families and dock workers and family farmers of Virginia,'' he said Friday, the last day for GOP contenders to file financial disclosure reports for the primary.
Democrats said the move was a shallow attempt to dodge the criticism, and noted that Gilmore's assets do not include a wide variety of interests.
``The fact that stock that you know you own is in a blind trust - I don't know that that answers many of the questions people have, as long as he holds the stock,'' Democratic Party spokesman Bert Rohrer said.
The Democrats blasted Gilmore last month when he flew to New York on a Philip Morris plane for a fund-raiser that brought in more than $50,000 for his campaign. Critics have also taken him to task for initially saying his office would not enforce new federal laws aimed at curbing teens' access to tobacco. Gilmore later pushed for a new state law aimed at having alcoholic beverage control agents enforce a ban of cigarette sales to children.
The stocks are worth between $10,000 and $50,000, Gilmore reported on the disclosure forms. The trust, with a total reported value of between $60,000 and $300,000, will be managed by David Long, an independent financial adviser who has handled Gilmore's financial affairs for several years.
The trust also includes Coca-Cola stock, two mutual funds and two individual retirement accounts, according to the disclosure forms.
Gilmore's expected opponent in November, Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, owns no tobacco stocks outright, according to an official with the Beyer campaign, but he does have shares in mutual funds that may have tobacco holdings.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS GOVERNORby CNB