THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 14, 1996 TAG: 9610120034
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: INTERVIEW
One of a series of interviews with Virginia's political leaders
conducted by Pilot editorial writer Margaret Edds. George Allen has
been governor of Virginia since 1994. He's a former congressman and
state delegate.
SOURCE: [Margaret Edds]
LENGTH: 121 lines
What have been the major political trends in Virginia in the 1990s?
I think what you're seeing is that the Republicans are the ones that are leading the charge with ideas and changes. There are a lot of changes going on in Virginia, there sure have been the last 2 1/2 years. I suppose you could say Doug Wilder's election was a change also. The similarity is that both of us were from outside the establishment, outside the conventional wisdom. Generally speaking, the establishment thought I had absolutely no chance of winning.
Is a desire for bucking the establishment, for livening things up politically, the main trend then?
No. Wilder and I are both outsiders, and that's probably why we get along fairly well. We're more independent thinking. But he had different priorities. His campaign was about race and abortion. . . . My campaign broke 12 years of solid Democrat rule. It was a grass-roots campaign where people were more involved than power brokers or the establishment.
Is there a populist spirit in Virginia?
You would think so with Wilder and myself, but I just don't really see it. I mean, this is a state where judges are elected by the General Assembly or selected by the governor. We do not have initiative and referendum. It's the last state to have local-option election of school boards. Most other states have much more participatory democracy.
Where is Virginia on the philosophical scale?
Virginia is a Southern state and I certainly like the traditions of the South. But I've got Western blood in me also, and that's a more independent approach than what you'd find from just pure Southern. That's why I veto all these nanny bills like mandatory-seat-belt laws. I just can't stand these bills where government is telling people something to do that they can ordinarily figure out themselves.
I remember people saying, ``Oh, gosh, the seat-belt law. . . .'' I said, ``You think they carry the code of Virginia around in their glove box?'' That's more of the Western stuff.
Why has Virginia not embraced social conservatism as much as some other Southern states? Why is there no parental-notification bill, for instance?
I don't know. I've tried mightily on that. Basically, I think the reason is not the people. It's a function of the holdover from the Democrat power structure, the way they have their committees set up.
Virginia was historically the leader of the Southern states. Is that still true?
Virginia in the '60s, '70s and '80s was relying mostly on the federal government, the defense buildup (for jobs). The federal government was the reason we felt we didn't have to make much of an effort. Meanwhile, we weren't even in competition with the Carolinas and Georgia and some other states.
Virginians didn't even know they were losing because they weren't even on the field of competition. And now we're winning, and a lot of people all across Virginia realize we cannot just sit back and be satisfied.
With hindsight, why were your tax-cut proposals defeated in the 1995 session?
When I introduced that, I figured what would happen is you'd get to a compromise as far as negotiations. If you're trying to sell a house for $150,000, you ask $180,000. . . . It's just typical old horse trading as far as I'm concerned. The problem was that the chairmen of the committees, Delegate Cranwell and Senator Andrews, said we're not going to have any tax cuts coming out of our committees.
Then the Democrats, they all fell in line, and being a majority, if they say we're not going to allow any tax cuts, that's it.
Did you overreach?
No, I don't think it was too much for this state. It was too much for the leaders of the General Assembly. As governor of Virginia, you have four years and that's it. There's no reason to dawdle around and wait. You have to do as much as you can as quickly as you can.
How about your urging Republicans to ``knock their soft teeth down their whinny throats?'' Did that hurt?
Oh gosh, I blame no one but myself for that one. . . . I should not have said it. That was said during the 1994 spring convention and here we are in a sporting facility and I was thinking of the sort of motivation that you give to a team going on to the field. And I did say ``figuratively.'' Of course, no one ever quotes ``figuratively.''
Did friction in the party affect the outcome of your legislative efforts in any way?
It had absolutely no impact on my initiatives and ideas. I do wish in the last 2 1/2 years Randy Forbes had been chairman of the party. It would have been nice to have a Republican Party organization helping us with it, rather than just sort of being on their own.
I just felt such a burden had been lifted off my shoulders at that Salem convention this year when Randy Forbes was elected chairman. I just felt like I no longer had to be the fund-raiser, the political leader, this, that, have all these roles.
Where is the state headed politically?
I think it will always be a few seats one way or the other as far as the legislature. The bigger question as far as Virginia is concerned, I talk about this renaissance, and I really do think it's a rebirth of opportunity and prosperity here in Virginia.
So the question is whether this renaissance is going to continue to flourish. Are the efforts going to continue to be made to attract more jobs and investment into Virginia?
We're well-positioned now in education, in economic development, in welfare reform, safety and in reducing the size of government. Now in the future, if they say we've got to get back to growing government, that will change.
It doesn't happen in six months, but in a period of time, all of this could be eroded. It's more than just the next governor, it's the next several governors. MEMO: These interviews by Margaret Edds were conducted for a book about
Southern politics in the 1990s. The Virginia chapter is being written by
Dr. Thomas Morris, president of Emory & Henry College, and Ms. Edds. ILLUSTRATION: [Gov. George Allen] by CNB