THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510170071
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Is riverboat gambling a potential economic boon or a disaster?
Does the new concealed weapons law prevent crime or help cause it?
What's the best way to pay for public education?
Those questions and others showed once again that Bayview Civic League is the place for candidates to discuss the issues.
The civic league's Oct. 10 political forum featured the candidates for the 87th House of Delegates and 6th state Senate seats. More than 100 residents, a standing-room-only crowd, came out to listen.
The Republican candidates' message could be boiled down to, ``We need change,'' and the Democrats', ``No, we don't.''
The Republicans are within reach of taking a majority of the seats in the General Assembly in the November election. But the incumbents, all Democrats in Norfolk, say the GOP is exaggerating the need for change.
``They're calling Virginia the last of the big spenders,'' said state Sen. Stanley Walker, D-6th District, clearly angered by his opponent's claims. ``It's time to change, they're saying. Well, this is not Washington, my friends. It won't sell. Don't buy this thing that Virginia's a great spending state.
``Let me tell you, taking money away from Meals on Wheels is a change I won't buy. If taking money from the mentally retarded is change, I don't want it.''
Walker's opponent, Republican Dimitrios Rerras, painted a broad picture of ``social, moral and economic decline'' in Virginia in the years Democrats have been running the state.
``Who is in charge up in Richmond when our criminal justice system is deteriorating?'' Rerras said. ``We have to make changes.''
But Del. Howard Copeland, D-87th District, said the Republicans' anti-crime message is too narrow.
``We can't just do the tough-on-crime thing,'' Copeland said. ``We must also engage in prevention. We must put the next generation on the right track.''
Thelma Drake, an Ocean View Realtor and Copeland's Republican opponent, came out swinging hard at Copeland. She said Copeland was misleading the public by saying that the legislature had put lottery proceeds into education.
``Howard, I am really sorry you would try to mislead the people in your community,'' she said. ``These are your people.''
Copeland said the bill referred to, the Omnibus Education Act, does mean more money for schools.
The candidates answered a number of questions from the audience. One person asked what their position is on riverboat gambling. A proposal to allow riverboats in Virginia, if they are approved in local referendum, has died in the past few sessions but is expected to return.
Walker said he believes people should have the right to vote on the concept.
Rerras opposed it: ``If we want more crime, more prostitution, the mob, then we should have riverboat gambling.''
Copeland, too, supports the idea of a local referendum, saying he trusts in the ``collective wisdom'' of voters.
Drake said many people feel burned by the lottery referendum, which led them to believe the proceeds would be used for education. She also said riverboat gambling could hurt local businesses.
Another resident asked how the candidates felt about the new concealed-weapons law, which makes it easier to get a permit to carry a gun.
Rerras said he supports the measure and came out strongly against gun control.
Walker said he was against making it easier to carry concealed weapons and noted that most law enforcement officers were against it.
Drake told a story about an Ocean View woman who was saved from a robber because her neighbor had a gun and finished by saying, ``I've decided, unfortunately, I'm going to have to learn to use a gun.''
Copeland said he supported the concealed weapons bill and added safeguards to ensure that the wrong people don't get permits. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Sen. Stanley Walker
Dimitrios Rerras
Del. Howard Copeland
Thelma Drake
by CNB