
DATE: Friday, May 16, 1997                  TAG: 9705160683

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  111 lines

PACS RULE LOCAL DONATIONS WHERE HAMPTON ROADS DELEGATES ARE GETTING MONEY IN THIS ELECTION: 82 PERCENT FROM PACS AND CORPORATIONS 17 PERCENT FROM INDIVIDUALS

If John Q. Public wants to play ball in Virginia politics, he probably would be better off as the John Q. Public Political Action Committee, or maybe JQP Inc.

That much is apparent from an analysis of the latest campaign fund-raising reports for Hampton Roads members of the House of Delegates.

Lumped together, Hampton Roads delegates have raised 82 percent of their money from PACs and corporations - and 17 percent from individuals - so far in this election season. The remaining 1 percent was contributions too small to be identified.

But look at individual campaigns, and many are more lopsided than that: 96, 98, 99, even 100 percent of some campaigns' money is raised from PACs and corporations, according to a Virginian-Pilot analysis.

Statewide in 1995, about one-third of all campaign funds were raised from individuals. So far this season, the proportion is less than one dollar in five.

And this is taking place in districts that typically are equal to medium-sized towns.

``It's no longer just in the far-away halls of Congress, it's right here in Virginia,'' said Julie Lapham, Virginia director of Common Cause. The group is urging campaign finance reform at all levels of government.

The candidates say they're stuck with a system that requires them to raise a lot of money without spending all their time doing so.

``The part of the job I hate worst is raising money,'' said Del. Frank W. Wagner, a Virginia Beach Republican. ``I feel like a beggar to a certain degree.''

He estimates he'll need $50,000 to run his campaign this year, more if he draws a challenger. Wagner can do it with 1,000 donations of $50, or 50 checks for $1,000. He says it's a question of how much time and resources he wants to put into it.

``When I speak to civic leagues, I tell them, it's a lot of money,'' he said. ``I don't even use consultants anymore. But polls are expensive, it costs $4,000 just to send out a newsletter, and that's how we get to where we are.''

He has raised $8,665 so far, and $8,465 of that is from corporations and PACs, including: $1,250 from the Virginia Optometric Association, $1,000 from Paramount's Kings Dominion, $500 from tobacco giant Philip Morris Co.

``It's traditional to go to companies around the state to give you money,'' Wagner said. ``You can count on these groups, you give a luncheon, whatever.''

But Lapham said it's not traditional: ``We are seeing a general trend that average citizens are being relegated to the back burner, and the ones up front are the PACs and corporations that have the big bucks to spend.''

Elsie Barnes, dean of social sciences at Norfolk State University, said you can look at it another way: If you want to get your lawmaker's attention, find the group that represents your interests and join it.

``The political structure is geared toward organization,'' she said. ``To have the greatest impact, you need to band together with those of a similar view. PACs provide the vehicle for doing that.''

Lapham said, ``That's unconscionable. The system is not organized that way, and certainly the founding fathers didn't intend it that way.

``That's why 85 percent of Virginians are in favor of campaign finance reform and limiting spending. The system has moved to a distasteful, unethical place.''

She said the money shows whom delegates are listening to.

Not surprisingly, a close examination of individual lobbies shows that they frequently target the members of committees who tend to hear their issues.

For instance, if you subtract Speaker of the House Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, to whom most groups want to contribute, nearly two-thirds of the money given to Hampton Roads delegates by phone companies went to the three local members of the committee on corporations: George Heilig Jr., Jerrauld C. Jones and William P. Robinson Jr., all Norfolk Democrats.

``It removes the power, the voice, from the people and puts it in the hands of the lobbies,'' Lapham said.

It is still early in the campaign, and the PACs may just want to get their contributions in first. The mix of financial supporters of the campaign could change later.

The Hampton Roads delegate with the most non-PAC support is Del. J. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, who has raised 52 percent of his funds from individuals.

But Forbes, who also happens to be the state Republican chairman, isn't criticizing his colleagues.

``I wish I could tell you that I had made some kind of conscious effort to raise funds the way I do, but I can't say that,'' Forbes said. ``I very seldom can even recall having to ask people for money. Our strength has always been from people who have known me for years.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

DIFFERING VIEWS ON FUND RAISING

DEL. FRANK W. WAGNER, Virginia Beach Republican: ``It's traditional

to go to companies around the state to give you money. You can count

on these groups, you give a luncheon, whatever.''

JULIE LAPHAM, Virginia director of Common Cause: ``We are seeing a

general trend that average citizens are being relegated to the back

burner, and the ones up front are the PACs and corporations that

have the big bucks to spend.''

ELSIE BARNES, Dean of social sciences at NSU: ``To have the greatest

impact, you need to band together with those of a similar view. PACs

provide the vehicle for doing that.''

Graphic