THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994 TAG: 9411030410
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Stock car superstar and Republican stalwart Richard Petty has driven home another endorsement for a local political hopeful - this one to John Schrote, 1st District candidate for the N.C. House.
Petty, an outgoing Republican commissioner from Randolph County who plugged GOP congressional candidate Walter B. Jones Jr. in September, praised Schrote in a recent letter.
``Your experience in public administration will be an invaluable service to the citizens of the 1st N.C. House District,'' Petty wrote. ``Your conservative philosophy and your strong support for family values are in keeping with the farmers, fishermen, small businessmen and working people of your district.''
In what Schrote said was a significant statement, Petty wrote that Schrote's ``presence on the ballot gives the voters . . . a clear choice between liberal and conservative.''
Schrote's opponent, Democratic Pasquotank County Commissioner Bill Owens, has repeatedly shrugged off Republican suggestions that he is liberal. On Wednesday he defied detractors to find someone he has served with on a local or state board who would characterize him that way.
Owens also noted that Randolph County Commissioner Darrell Frye is one of several Republican officials who have backed his campaign.
``I wouldn't be getting all the conservative endorsements I've been getting if I wasn't a conservative candidate,'' Owens said. ``That's just kind of grasping at straws now.''
Also coming down for Schrote recently have been the National Rifle Association, which gave Schrote an ``A'' rating for the 1994 ``North Carolina Political Preference Chart,'' and former Republican Gov. James G. Martin.
``It would be great for North Carolina and especially the region of the Albemarle Sound if you are elected!'' Martin's letter to Schrote reads. ``The First District has an overwhelming registration in favor of the Democrat Party, but that includes many conservative Democrats who voted for me, Senators Helms and Faircloth; so they will listen to and support your conservative views.''
Schrote's high-profile endorsements, which include political contributions from Reagan- and Bush-era Cabinet members and legislators such as Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. and former Nevada Sen. Paul Laxalt, overshadow his local financial support.
Virtually all of the named donors for Schrote's $21,300 campaign purse list out-of-state addresses.
Owens' $41,800 in contributions came mostly from the Albemarle area. Nearly a quarter of those funds were from political action committee donations, which Owens said were unsolicited.
Schrote said there were ``no strings attached'' to his contributions.
KEYWORDS: ENDORSEMENT HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE NORTH CAROLINA by CNB