THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110475
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
State Democratic Party Chairman Mark R. Warner announced Wednesday that he will resign, effective June 24, to pursue a possible challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. John W. Warner next year.
``While he is not my `country cousin,' '' said Sen. Warner, to whom Mark Warner is not related, ``Mark Warner has earned his spurs in the state Democratic Party and, if nominated, will be a formidable opponent with significant personal financial resources.''
Virginia Beach lawyer Kenneth V. Geroe is on the short list of candidates to succeed Warner.
Geroe said Wednesday that he had agreed to hold off campaigning for the post until Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr. - the party's top elected official - announces his preference.
``The timing of this is that the party does not need a fight for the chairmanship on the eve of the General Assembly elections,'' Geroe said.
Beyer said he would make his preference known in the next few days.
Other names floated include former state Del. Alson H. Smith Jr. of Winchester and Fairfax County Democratic Chairwoman Suzie Wrenn.
The Democratic state central committee will select a chairman at a meeting scheduled for June 24.
Mark Warner said his departure should not hurt the Democratic Party's bid to hold back a rising Republican tide in Assembly elections this fall.
``I am confident that Mr. Jefferson's Party in Virginia is ready for the challenges ahead in 1995 and beyond,'' he said.
Democrats praised Mark Warner, a cellular telephone tycoon, for helping rebuild the party after Democrats lost the Governor's Mansion in 1993 and for beefing up the technology at the central headquarters.
Said U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb, a Democrat, ``I think those efforts have and will continue to pay dividends down the road.''
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE by CNB