THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511050057
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
Gov. George F. Allen's ears must have been burning for months now.
It's the biggest legislative election to come down the pike in Virginia, and who are the candidates talking about? Allen, who isn't on any ballot but has dominated the debate like no other chief executive in years.
Republicans, for the most part, have said Democrats aren't doing enough to support Allen's plans to build prisons, lock up prisoners, cut the state budget, and reform welfare. Their solution? Elect Republicans instead.
Democrats, generally, have said they supported Allen on the good things - parole abolition, welfare reform - and had reined him in on others - spending too much right away on prisons and making cuts to education. Their solution? Keep the legislature Democratic as a counterbalance to Allen.
Republicans in South Hampton Roads, heady with successes in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Suffolk in recent years, are making an all-out push this year to topple a Democrat or two in Norfolk and Virginia Beach and boost their statewide chances of winning a majority in the General Assembly.
``We know that George Allen did well in certain parts of Norfolk,'' said George Schaefer, Norfolk's Republican chairman and a candidate for the 86th House District. ``George Bush did well, and even Ollie North won four precincts in Norfolk. That Bayfront community seems to go Republican.
``You go up Shore Drive from Virginia Beach, and there's a border there, but there's not a lot of difference in the communities. This will be the test of that, anyway.''
In particular, they have staked their money and hopes on winning the 7th Senate District held by Sen. Clancy Holland in Virginia Beach and the 87th House seat held by Del. Howard Copeland in Norfolk (with one precinct in Virginia Beach).
The push in these districts has helped boost spending considerably in this region. By the last count, South Hampton Roads candidates have spent at least $2 million on television, mail and other advertising, and all the assorted services that make a campaign run. Some had enough extra money to give it to other candidates.
The ``Allen factor'' has meant that many candidates in different races, from different parties, were often talking about the same issues, in the same ways.
For instance, questions from The Virginian-Pilot about taxes, spending and economic development incentives produced 13 responses that talked about whether to phase out the business, professional and occupational license tax, or BPOL.
That is one of the governor's priorities, but probably very few voters are familiar with the tax or likely to consider the issue in the polling place.
Indeed, in recent weeks Allen's plans to cut taxes and return lottery profits to localities at the same time the state faces critical education needs have been criticized by Virginia's two surviving Republican governors, Linwood Holton and Mills E. Godwin Jr.
Citizens said before the campaign that the top issues which concerned them were education, jobs, taxes, partisan politics and public safety.
On the whole, those issues were discussed, but much of the time probably not the way citizens would have liked.
Republicans, in particular, came out swinging with heavy negative ads, often similar from race to race: ``Inside Democrat X's Crime,'' ``X: Against Better and Safer Schools,'' ``Too Liberal for Too Long.''
The ads often seemed to be coordinated from state party headquarters, with some candidates unable to provide details on their opponent's supposed problems.
Some Democrats responded in kind. Two similar Democratic television ads last week focused on Republicans Frederick M. Quayle and Thelma S. Drake, showing grainy, distorted pictures of them and making various charges. The ads barely mention the Democratic candidates.
The most negative ads typically came from the most closely contested races.
A few campaigns stood out for avoiding the mudslinging: In the 5th Senate District, Republican challenger Bruce A. Wilcox and Democratic Sen. Yvonne B. Miller generally stuck to the issues and did not always repeat the party line.
Wilcox is an attorney with six children in private schools, five of them at Norfolk Academy. Still, he said he does not support legislation backed by some conservatives that would give tax credits to parents who send their children to private schools, or similar voucher systems.
``The real key is to improve public schools, and vouchers undermine that,'' Wilcox said.
Similarly, Del. George H. Heilig Jr., D-86th District, and Republican George E. Schaefer III explored issues rather than attack each other.
Heilig proposed that the state consider a flat tax for both individuals and corporations. Schaefer called for more adequate, affordable child care to help the working poor.
The crop of candidates in this region still is somewhat lacking in diversity.
Nearly 80 percent of the 42 candidates running in South Hampton Roads are white males. There will be three women and eight African-Americans on the ballot Tuesday, most of them Democrats.
Nine incumbents are running unopposed for re-election, and many other races are not contests at all. Usually, challengers with little money to spend don't stand much of a chance against entrenched incumbents.
In two races in Chesapeake, the 78th House and the 14th Senate, the incumbents face candidates whose main purpose in running seems to have been promoting the philosophies of Lyndon LaRouche.
That's not very different from previous elections featuring followers of the perennial presidential candidate. MEMO: Staff writers Warren Fiske and Alex Marshall contributed to this
report.
ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
VIRGINIA VOTER NET
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KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA CANDIDATES ISSUES by CNB