THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 1996 TAG: 9610220255
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 149 lines
Bess E. Mann does her best to quell the demon of cynicism when the talk turns to Congress, but the little devil gets out, and before long she's up to here with the whole mess along the Potomac.
``I believe the primary reason why Congress has had difficulty addressing the major issues is because they have lost sight of the original intent of the job, and that is to serve the best interests of the country and the well-being of its citizens,'' she said.
And with that, she is off on a quick summary of what ails Congress from the perspective of a 52-year-old teacher of American government who plies her trade in the Virginia Beach public schools.
``I see members of Congress serving only their self-interests, promoting partisan views and exhibiting, in some cases, unprofessional and unethical behavior,'' Mann said.
``Not all congressmen are exhibiting unethical behavior, but I have the perception that most of them do. For many, special interest groups, both domestic and foreign, political action committees and lobbyists have undue and sometimes illegal influence on the decision-making process,'' she said. ``Conflicts of interest and the various party factions are partly responsible for the lack of congressional action.''
The perfect example of this, she said, was the attempt this year to repeal the ban on assault weapons. To her, the ban was a ``common-sense'' approach to a problem that seemed appallingly simple: what to do with guns designed for the military with the express purpose of killing people.
``Most people would agree that assault weapons should be banned,'' she said. ``They see it from a public safety standpoint. They put police at a disadvantage. They're unnecessary for hunters. But in their hunger for power and greed, the congressmen who wanted to repeal it created suspicion and mistrust among the ordinary voters.
``I think effective leadership in Congress is missing,'' she added. ``Gone are the days when we had statesmen and stateswomen. Instead, today we are left with politicians.''
Although she is a teacher, Mann feels equally about all lobby groups, from the National Education Association to the National Rifle Association.
``It's unfair to buy politicians,'' said Mann, who teaches at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach. ``It's not in the best interests of the country.''
Mann said she keeps her views outside of the classroom.
``I make every effort to be objective in class, but on a personal level I am suspicious of politicians in general,'' she said.
As an instructor, Mann relies on the media and her own research to learn about Congress, including Congressional Quarterly and Congressional Digest. She is particularly interested in taxes, education, the deficit and crime. She has her students watch C-SPAN and CNN, as well as read newspapers.
Like many voters, Mann has never had much reason to ask her congressman for assistance, apart from the time when she asked former representative William Whitehurst for help in getting a passport. And despite her sometimes harsh opinion about Congress in general, she believes that she could reach her congressman, in this case Rep. Owen B. Pickett, if she needed his help. MANN'S QUESTION FOR THE CANDIDATES
Would you support a bill that would eliminate all campaign financing by political action committees, foreign and domestic lobbyists, and run your campaign instead on the money contributed by you personally and from the taxpayer? SENATE
John Warner's response: ``No. I support campaign finance reform that would reduce the amount of time candidates must spend raising money; provide voluntary spending limitations; require candidates to receive a majority of their donations from inside that district or state; allow challengers to raise modest amounts in larger increments so that they can mount credible campaigns against entrenched incumbents; end compulsory support of partisan activities by labor PACs; index contribution limits to inflation; require full disclosure of all contributions; limit the amount of their own money candidates could put into their own campaign; and not require taxpayer support.''
Mark Warner's response: ``I would certainly support a bill banning PACs, but I do not support taxpayer financing. We need to overhaul our campaign finance system. It makes no sense that only career politicians or the wealthy can run for office these days. I have invested in my own race, but I don't take PAC money. I support the bipartisan campaign finance reform bill killed by the Senate this year which would have banned PACs.'' HOUSE 2ND DISTRICT
Owen B. Pickett's response: ``I believe strongly in full, complete and timely disclosure of all political campaign receipts and disbursements so that voters can determine for themselves the role that money is playing in a particular candidate's campaign.''
John F. Tate's response: ``I oppose the use of revenue to fund any politician's campaign. I would support a bill that would eliminate direct or indirect foreign contributions, but I oppose limiting the individual rights of American citizens. The idea that people with a common interest band together to pool their contributions by forming a political action committee is not a bad one, as long as the contributions are voluntary... Frankly, the one real area of campaign abuse is the use of forced union dues for political and ideological purposes. 3RD DISTRICT
Robert C. Scott's response: ``It's unrealistic to believe that elimination of political action committees would mean elimination of special interest money. Elimination of PACs would only mean money would go from individuals with special interests to candidates and not from PACs to candidates. There would be no public accounting of where the money came from. We need seriously to consider public funding, which would eliminate candidates' solicitation of money.''
Elsie Goodwyn Holland's response: ``No, I would not permit such a bill. PACs and lobbyists should be able to contribute to whomever they want. If the tobacco industry gave me a million dollars, I would accept it. They can't buy my integrity. If they want to help, fine. As long as you agree with their position when you vote for something they want and they are not buying your vote, fine.'' 4TH DISTRICT
Norman Sisisky's response: ``I'm against public financing. I don't think taxpayers should have to pay for congressional campaigns. It's already illegal for foreign governments and others to give individual contributions. I am very concerned about soft money. That's the money that goes to the parties, and it can come in varied amounts and from various sources without anybody knowing it's there... I don't have a problem with political action committees - that's just people joining up and getting together - and domestic lobbyists. I have to remind people all the time, sometimes we get money from PACs that fight each other.
Anthony J. Zevgolis' response: ``Yes. And if that failed, I would come back with a compromise bill that would limit contributions from PACs to the same amount that an individual can contribute, $1,000. And further, my bill would require that it come from local PACs only. We also need a complete ban on soft money that channels huge amounts of money to incumbents. If PACs are not trying to buy influence, why do they contribute more than 90 percent of their money to incumbents? Moneys raised in your own district cannot compare with what incumbents raise in Washington. I would raise my money locally.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by D. Kevin Elliott/The Virginian-Pilot
Bess E. Mann of Virginia Beach is disturbed by the influence of
special-interest groups. The American government teacher would like
to see her leaders support a bill that eliminates all campaign
financing by political action committees and lobbyists.[appears on
p. B1]
Photo
Bess E. Mann
Photos
[Photos of all the candidates]
KEYWORDS: CONGRESSIONAL RACE ELECTION CANDIDATE ISSUES
CAMPAIGN FINANCING PAC < by CNB