THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 12, 1996 TAG: 9603120296
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Saying he has fresh ideas to lead the nation into the high-technology 21st century, former state Democratic Chairman Mark R. Warner formally announced his candidacy Monday for the U.S. Senate.
``Today we will start a campaign that will ask the people of Virginia, `Are we more concerned about where we've been or are we more concerned about where we're going?' '' said Warner, a telecommunications mogul with a net worth estimated at $100 million.
Warner, 41, of Alexandria, said his key goal would be to foster education to ensure that children receive the high-technology skills needed to succeed in the coming century.
``These technologies will change everything from how we educate our children to how we defend our shores,'' he said.
Warner is considered a strong front-runner in his bid for the Democratic nomination against former U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne. The party will choose its candidate at a state convention June 8 in Hampton.
Two Republicans are vying for the seat: three-term incumbent John W. Warner and James P. Miller III, a former federal budget chief in the Reagan administration.
Mark Warner has been a moderate leader of the state Democratic party for more than a decade. He was widely credited in 1989 with taking control of a disorganized campaign by L. Douglas Wilder for governor and leading it to victory.
Warner was elected state party chairman in 1993. In 1994 he helped negotiate a truce in a bitter feud between Wilder and U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb that helped Robb win re-election.
Warner resigned as state chairman last year to concentrate on his Senate run - his first bid for public office.
Warner, a graduate of Harvard Law School, is married and has three young daughters.
The nation's top economic priority should be to balance the federal budget, he said, and until that is accomplished, Warner said he would not support cutting taxes on the middle class. He said he supports increasing the minimum wage and opposes a flat tax.
He pledged not to accept money from political action committees in his campaign. He added that he plans to spend some of his own money campaigning but would not say how much.
Of incumbent Republican John Warner, he said: ``John Warner is a senator of the Cold War. We need to be prepared for the 21st century.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Mark R. Warner, 41, said he wants to push high-tech skills for
children, so they can succeed in the next century.
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE VIRGINIA SENATE by CNB