THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280612
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS AND DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Republican Oliver L. North continued his record-setting fund-raising pace in early October, outdistancing Democrat Charles S. Robb by better than four-to-one, according to federal financial reports filed Thursday.
North also continued to be the subject of attacks about his possible ties to drug figures during the Iran-Contra affair as a former congressional investigator slammed him for dealing with deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.
Receipts from the period ending Oct. 19 bring North's fund-raising total to $17.5 million, just shy of the $17.8 million national record held by North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms. The North campaign has said they've passed $18 million in collections since books closed on the latest report.
In contrast, Robb has raised $4.5 million since beginning his re-election bid last year. About $576,000 of that was collected in the Oct. 1 to 19 reporting period.
Independent J. Marshall Coleman raised $241,566 in the last period, bringing his total to $376,576.
All three men entered the final stretch of the campaign with money in the bank. However, the edge was held by North, whose massive direct mail fund-raising effort is keeping a steady flow of funds pouring into campaign coffers.
When debts were subtracted, North had about $746,000 on hand, compared with $487,000 for Robb. Coleman had $302,000 in the bank, but has yet to repay a $150,000 personal loan.
Continuing a pattern, many of North's donors gave small contributions of $10 or $25 and the bulk lived out of state. His report contained more than 1,000 pages listing contributors, compared with about 125 pages in the Robb report.
An earlier survey showed about 85 percent of North's contributions coming from out of state, and a sample of about 500 contributions from the latest list suggested that trend is continuing.
A sampling of about 250 Robb contributors showed them split evenly between in-state and out-of-state residents. An earlier survey had shown about 71 percent of his money coming from out of state.
North spent about $1.2 million on TV ads during the latest period. Robb spent about $869,000 on television during that time frame.
In Richmond, North came under fire Thursday from Jack Blum, the lead investigator in a 1980s U.S. Senate probe into drug trafficking in Central America.
Blum criticized North for negotiating with Panamanian General Manuel Noriega after the media exposed Noriega's ties to cocaine trafficking into the United States.
Blum conceded North was acting under orders from White House superiors when he met with Noriega in a London hotel room in September 1986. But Blum, a Democratic appointee, argued that North should have quit out of principle rather than try to ``cover up'' Noriega's drug trafficking.
In his meeting with North, Noriega offered help in training Contras fighting the Nicaraguan government in exchange for help in ``cleaning up his image'' with the U.S. media and government, North's own notes at the time show.
A few weeks later, the Iran-Contra scandal became public. Noriega later was captured by U.S. troops, tried on drug charges and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
In his autobiography, North said he talked tough with Noriega: ``There were reports that he was involved in drug and murder and had ties to Cuban front companies operating in Panama. This had to stop.
``For me, one of the ugliest aspects of the whole Iran-Contra affair was the way my meetings with Noriega were described in some quarters as though the two of us had some kind of alliance. We didn't. Noriega was probably the single most despicable human being I ever had to deal with. After a meeting with him, you just wanted to go home and take a shower.''
Independent candidate J. Marshall Coleman campaigned Thursday at a McLean high school, where he urged students to be good citizens by voting Nov. 8.
``Voters can deny office to flawed candidates who don't measure up to their standards for good government,'' Coleman said. ``And they can improve their government and their future by voting for the best candidate on the ballot.''
Coleman also got a boost from his patron saint, U.S. Sen. John W. Warner Jr., who has taped a television spot for Coleman that will soon begin airing around the state. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story.
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATES U.S. SENATE RACE CAMPAIGN by CNB