THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060381
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Two months after Rep. M.W. ``Henry'' Aldridge angered many people with his comments about rape and pregnancy, some of his constituents hope to convince the 72-year-old periodontist not to seek re-election next year.
They've formed a political action committee, Citizens for Intelligent Government, to inform voters about Aldridge's record and to help mobilize 9th House District voters to choose another representative in 1996.
``Henry Aldridge just does not represent mainstream Greenville, and we're trying to tell him that,'' said Laura Butler of Greenville, treasurer of the newly formed PAC. ``And we're trying to tell other people that, too.''
Butler said the group is not backing any candidate for the General Assembly from the 9th House District, so far - it just hopes Aldridge won't be on the ballot.
The group recently published a four-page newsletter, which contains several articles and charts showing Aldridge's voting record. The group distributed about 1,000 copies of the newsletter throughout Aldridge's district and at the General Assembly in Raleigh last week.
Aldridge, a freshman Republican, gained nationwide publicity when he said during a House committee debate over abortion funding in April that women who are raped generally do not get pregnant.
``The facts show that people who are raped, who are truly raped, the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work, and they don't get pregnant,'' Aldridge was quoted as saying.
Aldridge made the remark at a budget meeting while arguing that the state didn't need its $1.2 million abortion fund for rape victims.
The statement outraged several legislators and lobbyists.
Inside the legislative building, lapels featured pink buttons that read, ``It's NOT the juices stupid.'' Newspapers and television networks, including The New York Times, ABC and CNN, published and aired his remarks, and people from as far away as California wrote to complain.
The controversy did not escape the attention of some of Aldridge's constituents, who held the first meeting of the fledgling Citizens for Intelligent Government shortly after their representative's remarks hit the airwaves.
Aldridge said the group's efforts would not influence his actions.
He said his critics will oppose him no matter what he does. His supporters like the way he votes, he said.
``No, it will not have any affect on the way I vote or whether I run again - and I do plan to run again.
``If they spread this around, it may help me more than it hurts me,'' he said.
Butler, 20, the group's treasurer, is in her third year at East Carolina University.
She said last week from Greenville that ``we were just aghast that he was saying some of the things that he was saying.''
Thomas Blue, chairman of Citizens for Intelligent Government, said many people who voted for Aldridge did not know his position on many of the issues that are now before the General Assembly. Blue helped run McLawhorn campaign where he lost to Aldridge.
And although Aldridge's comments about pregnancy and rape were the impetus for the new PAC, its members are also disturbed about their representative's votes supporting a bill to allow people to carry concealed weapons in most public places, a bill to limit the liability of landowners when school children are hurt visiting their land and a bill that would cut 46 faculty positions and 16 nonteaching positions at ECU.
Aldridge's district encompasses ECU, most of Pitt County generally south of the Tar River and one precinct in Greene County.
In 1994, he defeated incumbent Rep. Charles McLawhorn, a Democrat, with 8,137 votes to 6,566 votes. Through the fall, he raised nearly $50,500, while McLawhorn raised $27,500, according to campaign finance reports. by CNB