THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510260049
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 408 lines
The Editorial Board of The Virginian-Pilot recently invited each candidate in a contested race for representation of a district in South Hampton Roads to write an essay of no more than 250 words.
The responses of 13 candidates who are vying for the Virginia Senate are reprinted here. They are in each candidate's own words and reflect the issues of his or her own choosing.
Tomorrow: Essays by candidates for the House of Delegates.
5TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Part of Norfolk, part of Chesapeake)
YVONNE MILLER
Democrat/Incumbent
The General Assembly will face an array of issues in January 1996. Among the issues that I will put forth for it to address are employment, employability and education.
Central to our survival and quality of life is our capacity to find meaningful employment. Many Virginians are without work and have little hope of finding jobs. I feel that the issues of job creation and employability are most critical issues.
Strong economic development programs and good quality of life factors such as excellent schools, good health-care systems, strong arts programs and safe environments appeal to business investors and developers. Creation of jobs that pay high salaries and good benefits are related to having an educated work force.
I think that another significant issue is the provision of a strong educational system that provides adequate day care; good nursery-school experiences; strong K-12 systems; good colleges, universities, professional schools and research institutions. As a legislator, I will work to target budget expenditures for education at all levels. I will focus attention on quality instruction and examine and put forth measures to reward high-achieving schools in low- and moderate-income areas.
To address the issues of job creation and employment, I will work with other legislators to design attractive development incentives for expanding existing businesses and for attracting new businesses.
I will be available to speak with community groups, leaders and individual citizens to share and receive information about issues of concern.
BRUCE A. WILCOX
Republican/Challenger
Virginia faces a historic election Nov. 7. For the first time in more than 100 years the majority party in the Assembly will change. As the returns come in, the eyes of the nation will be on Virginia. Our results will be an indication of the coming year when we choose a new president.
I am the Republican candidate for the 5th Senate District in Norfolk and Chesapeake. My opponent has been in the General Assembly for 12 years. Voters should ask themselves: Is life in Virginia better now than it was before she was first elected in 1984? Is your neighborhood safer? Is your local school better? Are there more job opportunities now?
When less than half of Norfolk sixth-graders can pass a basic literacy test, is this the best we can do? Our children need academic standards to measure achievement and discipline in our schools to prepare them for life. Our teachers deserve respect.
We need to restore the role of families. The welfare state has been the worst enemy of families ever conceived. It rewards failure and punishes success.
A person with a job is much less likely to commit crimes or to abuse drugs. Jobs give people hope, a chance for the American Dream. I will work with Governor Allen to bring jobs to Virginia.
As your senator,I will do all I can to make life better for all of us. The choice is yours. You can make a difference.
6th SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Part in Norfolk, part in Virginia Beach)
STANLEY C. WALKER
Democrat/Incumbent
Our most valuable resource is our people. For this reason, we must prepare Virginia's young people to live and prosper in the competitive world of the 21st century.
Early-childhood education and pre-school programs are essential to give children a better start and we must teach basic skills as well as more rigorous academic subjects through high school. We must invest in new technology for the classroom, and we must challenge young minds to excel.
Under the current administration, Virginia has stepped back from its traditional commitment to higher education. While we must restrain tuition increases by sharpening our focus on teaching, we must also provide the resources needed to maintain a first-class system of colleges and universities.
At times this will mean new investment in people and technology and the addition of new programs and facilities. One example of this is the downtown Norfolk campus of Tidewater Community College.
For Virginia to maintain its favorable business climate we must continue to keep our taxes low. To promote economic development we must invest in our transportation infrastructure, including the Port of Hampton Roads. We must also use targeted incentives for businesses in order to attract the best jobs to our state in the future.
It is important that we maintain our commitment to protect Virginia's natural resources - with emphasis on the Chesapeake Bay.
We must provide more police, prosecutors, judges, jails and juvenile detention centers to prevent crime whenever possible and make punishment more swift and certain.
And, very important to our future is our desire and ability to help families lift themselves out of poverty and welfare dependency.
DIMITRIOS N. RERRAS
Republican/Challenger
There are many important issues facing our state and our area today. Safer streets, better schools and welfare reform are three of the most important issues. I am running for the state Senate because I am concerned about my three young children, their future and their opportunity to grow up in a safe community where they can receive a quality education, and I share these concerns for our entire community. As a new state senator, who has a business background, I will work hard to improve Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Safer streets: To make our neighborhoods safer, I support longer prison sentences for dangerous criminals, additional prison space for repeat violent criminals, reform of the juvenile justice system, and the implementation of an open and merit-based system for selecting judges.
Better schools: As a new state senator, who is also serving on Governor Allen's Education Reform Commission, I will work to ensure that all children receive a quality education through higher academic standards, emphasis on discipline and safety, and more educational alternatives for low- and middle-income families. I support increased funding for public education through the return of the lottery profits to localities. I will encourage higher academic achievement through the introduction of magnet schools, pilot-program charter schools and expanded educational opportunities for low- and middle-income families in economically distressed cities.
Welfare reform: It is also very important that our public policies emphasize personal responsibility. That is why I support continuing efforts to bring honest welfare reform that requires work, requires that the father be identified and encourages self-sufficient living.
I need your help to build a better future for our community. I ask for your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Thank you.
7TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Part of Virginia Beach)
CLANCY HOLLAND
Democrat/Incumbent
Despite the consensus of business, civic and professional experts that Virginia has been among the best-managed states in the nation, a radical cadre (the Republican administration) has proposed a catastrophically different way of doing business.
They propose to dramatically slash state funding, providing you with nominal tax relief at the cost of a severe drop in essential services. They advocate reckless borrowing which would jeopardize Virginia's sound economy. I have been there on the Senate Finance Committee to interject some sanity and common sense into the process. As a result, I am the target of a foul attack by my op-po-nent.
Nowhere is the difference between myself and these ``radicals'' more distinct than in education. These individuals profess to be supportive, yet they propose dramatic reductions in educational funding. The problem is not that we are spending too much but, rather, we do not spend it wisely.
Beyond the obvious benefit of providing the very best education we can for our children - by guaranteeing a quality system from preschool through graduate school - this creates an environment which is attractive to industry and leads to a higher quality of life for all our citizens. This means good jobs for Virginians. It also provides the foundation for a thriving economy with low taxes.
As the only medical doctor in the Assembly, I have led in legislation that has increased the availability of health insurance, increased the accountability of health-insurance companies and made Virginia a leader in organ/tissue donation and transplantation.
Do not surrender, Virginia, to a bunch of reckless radicals who care little for the future of the commonwealth. I ask for your vote Nov. 7.
ED SCHROCK
Republican/Challenger
This election is about who can better represent you. When was the last time Clancy Holland asked you for your opinion? How can he represent you when he has no clue how you feel about issues facing Virginia? I have walked to more than 19,000 homes to listen to what you want from your state government, and I have learned a lot.
I have signed the Pledge for Honest Change. The pledge lists seven items that when enacted will bring positive and responsible changes to the way state government works.
There are major differences between me and my opponent, but no difference could be more obvious than welfare reform. On Feb. 16, The Washington Post reported ``Allen's Welfare Plan Defeated in Va. Senate - Governor's Agenda Dealt a Near Fatal Blow.'' The article on welfare reform read, ``in application, the two contain major differences. Among other things, the Democrat version does not require work until a year after the first assistance check arrives, instead of the 30 days Allen wants, and it contains broad exemptions from the two-year cutoff. The Democrat bill also would cost considerably more.''
The Democrat version was sponsored on the floor of the Senate by my opponent, Clancy Holland. He thinks we need to spend an additional $180 million to reform welfare. I don't think we need to spend another taxpayer's hard-earned dollar to responsibly reform welfare.
I hope to win your support. For a copy of the pledge or for more information, please call 473-9595.
13TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Parts of Isle of Wight, Prince George and Surry counties; parts of the cities of Chesapeake, Hopewell, Portsmouth and Suffolk)
FREDERICK M. QUAYLE
Republican/Incumbent
Public education is the rallying cry for every candidate, and well it should be. Nothing is more important to the future of our commonwealth than the education of our children. The amount of money spent on education has doubled in the past 15 years while test scores and real results have continued to fall.
We must not be afraid to try innovative approaches to education. Core-subject instruction must be intensified. No high-school graduate should have to take high-school remedial courses after entering college.
Too many of our education dollars are going into administration. That money must be redirected so that it gets into the classroom. Administration of our schools should be decentralized as much as possible. The more control and involvement that the individual school, school principal, teachers and parents have over what is done in their school, the more responsive it will be to the particular needs of the students in that school.
Teachers spend too much time on discipline. One disruptive student can deprive 25 others of an opportunity to learn. We must be prepared to remove that student from the classroom and provide an alternative program which will challenge him.
A healthy dialogue must exist between teachers and their principals and between principals and their superintendents. A school system run on fear will surely fail. We must be honest about the problems that exist and seek answers for them and not hide them simply to give an illusion of normalcy that is not legitimate.
JOHNNY S. JOANNOU
Democrat/Challenger
The preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America states that ``We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.''
These ideals should be the goals of every person ever elected to hold public office. Guided by the guidelines of the United States Constitution, it is my hope that someday we can achieve for every Virginian all the dreams of the framers of the Constitution. A public education system second to none. A strong economy so that we can achieve full employment. An environment free of the anxiety of insecurity and free of crime. A clean and healthy environment free of pollutants. And finally, a world full of compassion and understanding for one another, free of ignorance and bigotry.
My efforts as your state senator in the 13th Senatorial District will be to actively pursue these goals.
14TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Parts of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach)
MARK EARLEY
Republican/Incumbent
I would like to thank the voters for giving me the privilege of representing them in the Senate of Virginia. I would also like to ask for your support this November so I can continue to fight for you in Rich-mond. Here are some key is-sues:
1. Reforming welfare. For too long, government welfare policies have been destructive of our families in Virginia. I sponsored the welfare-reform bill last year which passed and makes Virginia a model for creating opportunity rather than dependency. I would like to continue this effort.
2. Combatting juvenile crime. The increase in violent juvenile crime is a threat to our communities and schools. I have sponsored legislation which makes it easier to try as adults those teenagers who commit serious violent crimes. I will continue to move forward on this front.
3. Improving public education. Our schools must spend more time on core academic instruction and must have rigorous standards for all of our students. The ability to read, write and to think critically are important to all subject areas and must be stressed from the beginning. We must also ensure that our schools are free of violence, intimidation and drugs.
4. Protecting victims' rights. I believe we must be more respectful of the rights of victims. Last year, I sponsored a constitutional amendment that makes clear in the Virginia Constitution that victims have rights in our criminal justice sys-tem.
4. Protecting higher education in Virginia. Virginia has one of the greatest college systems in the world. I will not permit the cost of an education at our universities and community colleges to be priced out of reach for Virginians.
MARK WALKER
Independent/Challenger
The commonwealth must face the truth: There is no recovery. Rather, we are in the worst economic crash since the time of the plague. We foolishly allowed the shutdown of our science industry and agriculture in Virginia. This madness led to the recent emergency farming situation. We depend on gambling money (lottery) to save first our schools and now our localities. Derivatives speculation created a cancer which is consuming its host - our physical economy. Lyndon LaRouche and his associates, of whom I am one, warned about this lunacy for years.
Los Angeles County considered shutting down a major hospital, laying off thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands scrambling for health care, as a proposal to save money. Incidentally, 24 other California counties are about to go bankrupt. What will happen to the bond market? We are not exempt from this.
``Contract on America'' is a pro-choice economic policy. Why fight enthusaistically for a policy that has killed far more people than Hitler dared dream? Why support an ideology that has fascist origins? End the genocide.
We must return to the ``American system'' of Alexander Hamilton. We must emphasize job creation in manufacturing, infrastructure building, research and development. I propose a classical education for children to contribute to this economic development policy. I support Lyndon LaRouche's brilliant work in economics, key to understanding the American system.
Help us get America back to work and reclaim her position as industrial, scientific and moral leader of the world.
15TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Counties of Appomattox, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Prince Edward and Sussex; parts of Dinwiddie, Greensville, Isle of Wight, Mecklenburg, Prince George and Southampton counties; parts of the cities of Emporia, Franklin and Suffolk)
RICHARD J. HOLLAND
Democrat/Incumbent
I am seeking re-election to continue good government in Virginia. This election isn't about George Allen or about whose ambitions for power are realized. It is about individual candidates and the ideas they would bring to our commonwealth's government.
My campaign is focused on issues which I care about deeply.
Education: We all want better quality instruction for our children. One way to get better instruction is to decrease class sizes and introduce computers and technical resources into the classroom. Students then get more attention and exposure to valuable technological tools. Good schools guarantee business growth and development, and ultimately jobs.
Crime: Violent crime is a serious problem in our country. That's why I voted for elimination of parole, three-strikes-and-you're-out, and for adequate new prison space. I don't want to build one prison bed more than we need. The rest of our money should be spent on things that prevent crime, like education.
Fiscal responsibility: I am a conservative Democrat. My opponent's characterization of me as a liberal is as hollow as it is untrue. I have never voted for a sales-tax or income-tax increase. I also helped pare a billion dollars off our budget during the recession. Jerry Flowers wants foolhardy tax cuts and spending increases that are meant to win political points but will doom us to debt and higher taxes in time. Which candidate has the record of tough, conservative management of our tax dollars? I do.
JERRY FLOWERS
Republican/Challenger
I decided to run for office because I see something wrong with Virginia's government; it simply isn't working. Bad schools and crime have put our children's future in doubt; politics-as-usual government just doesn't cut it anymore. Two years ago, the people of Virginia started to make a positive change by electing George Allen governor. I am proud to see that we have a good governor with a vision to put Virginia back on the right track, and the intestinal fortitude to carry it out.
But now he needs help.
During this year's General Assembly session, Democrats like Richard Holland put politics before Virginia and sought to defeat every single proposal that our governor proposed. Holland himself voted against the governor nearly 70 percent of the time, and last month alone, he took nearly $13,000 from special-interest PACs and lobbying groups. It's time for an end to special-interest politics-as-usual.
I run a small business; I want to return common sense to state government. Holland voted to throw $180 million more into our damaged welfare system; he voted to release criminals from prison early. Why? It just doesn't make sense. I support Gov. Allen's plan to reform the welfare system; I support Gov. Allen's plan to keep criminals off the streets; I support initiatives to increase funding for our schools while working to improve the quality of education.
But if we are going to bring honest change to the General Assembly, and improve our children's future, I need your support on Nov. 7.
18TH SENATORIAL DISTRICT
(Counties of Brunswick, Halifax; parts of Greensville, Isle of Wight, Mecklenburg and Southampton; parts of the cities of Chesapeake, Emporia, Franklin, Portsmouth, South Boston and Sffolk.
LOUISE M. LUCAS
Democrat/Incumbent
Ms. Lucas did not respond.
FRANK W. SLAYTON
Republican/Challenger
This race will send a strong message from conservative Virginians to liberal Democrats who now dominate and control the Democratic Party of Virginia. Liberal Democrat Louise Lucas has not provided true representation to any part of our large and diverse district. Her vote against returning lottery profits back to localities will cost Portsmouth $16,481,602 and Suffolk and Chesapeake, proportionally, many millions of dollars as well over the next five years. I will support legislation to return lottery profits to localities when the Senate convenes in January.
Lucas promotes herself as the ``Education Senator'' and on Channel 23 in Chesapeake on Sept. 10, she announced that she was an associate professor teaching a class this fall at one of the state-supported universities.
It has since developed that she is not a professor and does not teach, but she is paid a salary of over $72,000 for a part-time state job!
Lucas supported big out-of-state gambling interests, and she supported parimutuel betting despite the heart-break, crime and corruption that gambling can bring to our families and communities. (See Lucas' votes on the Earley Amendment to HB 1971 ('95), and HB 1175.)
Lucas opposed the Victim's Rights Amendment, HB 612, which proposed reasonable rights for victims of crimes, and Lucas voted to cut funds for prison construction and delay construction of hundreds of needed prison beds, risking court orders to turn prisoners out on the streets due to overcrowding.
Her liberal-Democrat politics are the politics of failure. We need to support Gov. George Allen's politics of reform for a better and safer future for our families. ILLUSTRATION: Photos of each candidate who responded
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE VIRGINIA STATE SENATE RACE CAMPAIGN by CNB