THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509030045
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
When Bill Clinton and George Bush squared off in the 1992 presidential race, a whopping five of every six registered Virginia voters went to the polls.
In the state's most recent contest for governor, the 1993 race between George F. Allen and Mary Sue Terry, close to two of three state voters cast ballots.
But the last time Hunter Andrews and Bo Trumbo and their colleagues in the Virginia General Assembly stood for election, more than half the registered voters stayed home.
This weekend marks the traditional kickoff of the fall campaign season. If history is the guide, many voters will approach this year's election menu - all 140 legislative seats are on the ballot - with less interest than they show in the price of fall fertilizer.
History, however, stands to be made this year, not repeated. With a swing of just three seats in the House and three in the Senate, Republicans could gain control of the Virginia legislature for the first time this century.
Guided by a similar political shift in Washington last winter, Virginia voters can spend the weeks before the Nov. 7 election deciding how or whether it matters which party controls the legislature.
In extensive conversations and an in-depth poll of voter attitudes conducted by The Virginian-Pilot this summer, many Virginians said they were disgusted with partisan politics and cared little whether Democrats or Republicans control the levers of power.
For the next nine weeks, party operatives and many candidates will argue that it does matter which party prevails.
Individual campaigns among the 26 contested Senate races and 72 contested House races will have their own flavor. But the overall theme stressed by party officials is that - to taxpayers, schoolchildren, criminals, the disadvantaged and every other subset of Virginians - it matters enormously who controls the state's $32 billion biennial budget and law-making apparatus.
While the governor and administrators also influence how dollars are spent and which laws take effect, the Assembly is a critical player in dividing the largess and setting the state's political direction.
``There is a fundamental difference in the way Republicans and Democrats look at government,'' said Scott Leake, director of the Joint Republican Caucus.
Republican control ``sure would have made a difference last year,'' echoed House Speaker Thomas W. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk. Moss cited a series of partisan disagreements over taxes, education and prison spending.
The challenge for the candidates is to convey what their differences mean in the areas that voters say they care most about.
According to interviews and the poll, that list includes:
An education system that prepares Virginia's children for the 21st century.
Safe neighborhoods in which those children can grow.
Jobs that pay livable wages.
And a lean but progressive government.
The two parties say they are sensitive to these issues and are developing their platforms to respond to them. Broad outlines already are emerging.
Democrats are trying to stake a claim as the defenders of the state's public education system and as the architects of a state tax structure that is among the least burdensome in the country.
They are distributing handouts noting that Virginia ranks 49th of 50 states in state tax burden as a percentage of personal income and is one of only five states with an AAA bond rating.
``Democrats are absolutely and completely clear that whether the outcome is economic development, safe streets, welfare reform or a community with fewer threats from drug abuse or youth violence, the answers are in the schools,'' said Gail Nardi, the party spokeswoman.
Republicans are starting with a three-fold message:
That moves toward abolishing parole and curtailing welfare will be in jeopardy if the Democrats retain power.
That the GOP stands for accountability in public education.
That Republicans are more likely than Democrats to rein in waste in government spending.
The GOP argues that the election is a referendum on the policies of Republican Gov. Allen, whose far-reaching agenda in the 1995 Assembly session was largely undone by the Democratic majority.
``It's not so much about control as about having an open hearing instead of a stacked deck,'' Leake said. ``Is George Allen going to be given a fair hearing and his policies a chance to succeed?''
Even so, Allen and the party may be inching away from at least one earlier proposal - giving all Virginians an income tax cut.
``There'll be more emphasis on wasteful spending than high taxes,'' Leake said.
From Fairfax to Lee County to Virginia Beach, individual candidates will be adding their personal spins to the agendas of their parties. And Virginians, perhaps more than in past years, will have to wrestle with whether to vote based on individual attributes or party affiliation.
Among the loudest citizen pleas as the contest begins is one voiced by individuals such as Brenda Poff, a Christiansburg homemaker.
``Every election, they start out talking about `this is what I think about health care, this is what I'm going to do about taxes, this is what I'm going to do for the environment,' '' she said. ``And then three weeks later they've got this mud-slinging.''
If politicians want to boost participation, she suggested, one key is to stick to issues.
``I turn it off,'' Poff said of partisan bickering, ``because it's utterly ridiculous and I think I'm beyond that.'' by CNB