THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996 TAG: 9601100660
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
Legislators trickled into Capitol Square on Tuesday, hopeful that the soppy, gray muck of partisanship surrounding them will soon be gone.
There was snow everywhere, too, which compounded the commotion of legislators settling in.
The General Assembly opens its annual lawmaking session today, with signs that members are digging out of the party divisions that enveloped them last year. Many senators and delegates arrived Tuesday still weary from 1995's election-year nastiness, promising at least a truce, if not outright cooperation.
``I don't think on our side there's any thought of picking fights for the sake of picking fights,'' said Del. M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights.
``If the war starts, it's not going to last long,'' predicted Richmond Sen. Joseph B. Benedetti, Republican Senate leader.
There are no snow days in the General Assembly - the kickoff is mandated by the Constitution. Scuttlebutt abounded about the political parties trying to force votes while legislators from the more snow-bound counties are out of town.
Snow flurries complicated the matter Tuesday, adding to the foot of snow already on the ground in Richmond. The state police and Department of Transportation, however, promised there will be few no-shows.
But even less predictable than the weather could be the state Senate, where the parties each hold 20 seats and are considering a first-ever sharing of legislative power. The Senate could vote to organize today, but might wait a few days to count votes and finalize plans.
Continuing to confuse the issue: Democratic Sen. Virgil H. Goode Jr.
The Franklin County conservative, who has pushed for shared power while Democratic leaders scramble to keep control, skipped his party's organizational meeting Tuesday. Goode's vote for organizing the Senate could make the difference.
Democrats said they hope Goode will attend when the party meets again today before the General Assembly's noon opening. ``It's still not clear what he is going to do,'' said Sen. Stanley C. Walker, D-Norfolk.
In the House of Delegates, where the partisan fireworks are typically more spectacular, legislators showed signs of mellowing.
Take Del. H. Morgan Griffith, a Salem Republican starting his sophomore term. He was unopposed last fall, but campaigned with vigor for the Allen agenda. Tuesday, he roamed the General Assembly Building delivering boxes of popcorn to new members of the House, Republicans and Democrats alike. ``I don't know a lot of them,'' he said, ``so I thought this would be a good way to meet them.''
There are small signs that the Allen administration is likewise serious about reaching out to Democrats. Del. Robert D. Hull, D-Falls Church, was surprised last month when he bumped into a pair of Allen aides who said they were looking forward to working with him. Then, a few days after Christmas, Hull received a birthday card from Allen.
``That's never happened before,'' Hull said.
Allen spent much of the day polishing his State of the Commonwealth address, which he is scheduled to deliver to a joint session of the General Assembly at 7 p.m.
All around Capitol Square, people braced for today's opening session.
In the Capitol, Assembly pages learned the drill of passing out bills and taking food orders from legislators. The clerks tidied up the paperwork. Crews conducted a few last-minute tests of the sound systems.
In the General Assembly Building, where legislators keep their offices, the usual sound of chatter was accompanied by screeching file drawers and pounding hammers - the giddy newcomers and hardened been-theres settling in for a 60-day haul.
On the west side, in a third-floor office overlooking a vacant-lot-turned-city-park, Virginia Beach rookie Ed Schrock sat ramrod straight in dark pinstripes, his tie neat and tight. A dozen or more framed photographs were tacked to one wall with meticulous precision.
``After 24 years in the Navy, I've learned that you hang them up the day you get here,'' Schrock said. ``Because they might move you out the next day.''
On the north side, Virginia Beach veteran Ken Stolle sat in an open-collared denim shirt, surrounded by file folders and boxes. His pictures were leaning on the furniture. Stolle had chosen an office larger than his last - a right of seniority.
``The first one's always more exciting, I guess,'' said Stolle of this his fifth session.
Three floors higher, there was very little office-shuffling among the handful of legislative leaders who enjoy roomy suites with some of the best views in Capitol Square. Republican leaders had hoped to snatch the plum views for themselves by winning majorities in each chamber.
House Majority Leader C. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, got a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he strolled past the office of his Republican counterpart, S. Vance Wilkins Jr. ``Watch this,'' Cranwell said.
He swung his head into Wilkins' office, and boomed with mock surprise: ``I thought you were supposed to move down to the speaker's office.'' MEMO: Staff writer David M. Poole contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by BILL TIERNAN, The Virginian-Pilot
The nation's oldest legislative body could grind to a halt if its
pages do not learn to ferry about its bills and legislators' food
orders. They went through the paces Monday.
Gov. George F. Allen will deliver at 7 tonight the State of the
Commonwealth message he polished in his office Tuesday.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB