THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 12, 1995 TAG: 9512120311
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
The Republican Party did not lose one of its members in the state Senate Monday.
And these days, that's a significant development in the Capitol Square saga - considering the delicate political composition of the General Assembly.
Sen. Jane H. Woods, a moderate Fairfax Republican, announced at a Capitol news conference Monday that she will not bolt the Grand Old Party. Unhappy with the GOP's rightward bent, she had considered sloughing her party affiliation in favor of independent status.
Woods' nondefection was called a victory by Republicans, who are hoping to exploit the 20-seat tie that the two parties face as the General Assembly prepares to convene Jan. 10.
Democrats cast the development in a less-momentous light: All it means, they said, is that nothing has changed.
One of two senators thought to be possible party turncoats, Woods was in a position to clear up some of the fuzziness about just which party will rule the state Senate next year. But despite her announcement, little seems resolved.
Woods wouldn't promise to vote blindly with her party when the Senate votes next month to elect a floor leader, committee chairs and other leaders that give one party rule over another in the legislature.
So what historically has been a formality could become a political riot.
While Democrats can count on Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr. to break a 20-20 tie to elect the Senate leadership, they can't get that tie without support from their conservative members - namely Sen. Virgil H. Goode Jr. Goode told some senior senators in private last week that he will not commit to supporting the party.
Democrats had hoped a centrist Republican would solve that dilemma for them by leaving the GOP. Woods was the likely candidate. And now she says she's not leaving.
And Goode, like Woods, will not pledge support for his party when votes are cast to decide which party is in power. In essence, that means the Senate would convene next month with a 19-19 tie to elect its leadership, and two unpredictable senators who could go either way.
Woods said she expects the membership to reach some compromise, and Goode won't talk at all.
Other party members discount all the wrangling - while working to turn it to their advantage.
``We're not concerned,'' said Scott Leake, spokesman for Republican legislators.
``The fact is that both of them have always been respected and responsible members of the Virginia Senate,'' said Gail Nardi, spokeswoman for General Assembly Democrats.
``Unfortunately, considering the political climate, it seems everyone's loyalty is suspect.''
Goode, a 22-year veteran of the Senate, angered Democrats last year when he opposed U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb for the party's U.S. Senate nomination. His has been a consistently conservative vote: He sponsored legislation last year that made it easier for Virginians to carry concealed handguns.
Woods said she is staying with the Republican Party despite it ``being pulled in what I believe to be wrong directions.'' A moderate, she vowed to try to counter the more right-leaning elements of the party.
In the weeks since the Nov. 7 election, in which Republicans gained two Senate seats to force a 20-20 tie, both senators have been courted by both parties.
Among Woods' suitors: Gov. George F. Allen, who sent her a letter urging her not to revolt. ``It was consistent with `Don't bail, don't leave, have you learned to swim?' '' said Woods. ``But it was from the heart.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Jane H. Woods, a Fairfax moderate, had considered becoming an
independent.
by CNB