DATE: Friday, September 5, 1997             TAG: 9709050648

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HOLLY A. HEYSER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  113 lines

POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT IS GOOD BUSINESS EMPLOYERS ARE SHAPING ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEIR EMPLOYEES' LIVES

Ask five people how business gets involved in politics and you're likely to hear the same answer five times: Cutting checks for candidates and lobbying for relief from regulations and taxes. Even business people don't deny it.

But an equally undeniable truth is emerging in Virginia and elsewhere around the country: Business is using its influence to shape public policy in realms seemingly remote from their board rooms - most notably with regard to transportation and education.

Some of the signs:

Today in Williamsburg, the business-driven Hampton Roads Partnership is meeting not just to discuss traditional economic development initiatives, but broader matters such as transportation and ``community health,'' a big umbrella concept covering crime, safety, housing, health care and many other issues.

Last month in Charlottesville, business leaders from around Virginia discussed shifting the election-year political debate from personal property tax cuts to Virginia's multi-billion-dollar needs in transportation and education.

In Roanoke, business leaders were behind efforts in 1993 to form the New Century Council, a group dedicated to improving life in the Roanoke and New River valleys. Among other things, the council studied the region's transportation needs and has begun lobbying the state to address them.

``It's not just `what's in it for business' in terms of the bottom line,'' said John Williamson, co-chairman of the council. ``It's about quality of life.''

Business is still asking, ``What's in it for me?'' but the ``me'' now takes in communities, regions and, in Virginia's case, the state.

Williamson is vice president of the Roanoke Gas Co., but he spent 10 years in public service, eight of them as a county administrator. ``I've not been particularly impressed with the extent to which business has influenced public policy,'' he said.

Northern Virginia developer John T. ``Til'' Hazel agreed: ``The business community has been notably absent from responsible governance.''

But both see that changing, and Hazel has been a catalyst. Two years ago, he started making waves by lobbying for increased spending in higher education. And he was instrumental in bringing together business leaders for the recent Charlottesville meeting.

Hazel criticizes the gubernatorial candidates for pandering to the public with promises to cut or eliminate the personal property tax when the state needs more revenue to pay for urgent transportation and education improvements.

The Hampton Roads Partnership hasn't gone that far down the political road.

``We haven't taken a position on the personal property tax,'' President Barry DuVal said. But the group has invested considerable effort in studying the region's transportation and education needs, and is now trying to educate the public on key points.

One is that Hampton Roads faces $6 billion to $9 billion in unfunded transportation needs over the next 20 years. Another, he said, is that the region has 2,000 openings for high-pay technology jobs and doesn't have enough properly educated workers to fill the positions.

Virginia may be ahead of the curve in bringing business forces together to influence state policy, but it's not unusual for businesses to be involved in regional matters.

Doug Henton, president of Collaborative Economics in Palo Alto, Calif., has co-written a book about it. ``Grassroots Leaders for a New Economy'' explores the phenomenon in Phoenix, Austin, Orlando, Wichita and Cleveland.

``Businesses are recognizing it's in their self-interest to get involved,'' Henton said. ``There's a feeling they have to get involved in these issues.''

The No. 1 issue is work force readiness, he said. Businesses are coming out of the recession with more job openings than they can fill because the work force isn't prepared. Adequately preparing the workforce involves improving education from kindergarten classrooms to the universities.

``There's a broader recognition of the importance of quality of life as a way to attract and hold people, too,'' Henton said. ``The way you hold onto qualified people is to have a nice place to live.''

Adequate transportation systems are key, he said. In Silicon Valley, where his company is based, a local manufacturing group actively promoted ballot initiatives raising taxes to pay for transportation improvements, and local voters approved those tax increases.

``Ten or 15 years ago, business groups were concerned about workers comp, regulations and tax issues,'' he said. ``Business is still concerned about all those issues, but more sophisticated businesses recognize there are tradeoffs.''

Henton suspects several forces brought this about: Global competition has forced businesses to think differently. The emergence of small- and medium-sized companies fueling economic growth has introduced a new recognition of the need to think globally and locally at the same time.

And a demographic shift is changing who is at the helm in American businesses.

Under the World War II generation, he said, ``It was 10 or 12 guys - white guys - in a room making decisions for a community. The new generation sees things differently. A lot of these people really believe it's important to participate in public debate.''

Says the 42-year-old Williamson of Roanoke's New Century Council: ``If you're in a position to know issues but you aren't willing to involve yourself in the public debate, how can you sit back and complain about the outcome of public policy?''

It's business's ``position to know'' about the broad impact of transportation and education policies that puts it in a position to do significant good, said business leaders interviewed for this article.

``The citizens of Virginia are bright and able, but the citizens of Virginia can't be expected to get out and do the spadework,'' said Hazel. ``Citizens don't realize we only spend about a tenth of what we ought to spend on transportation.''

He and other business leaders involved in public debate say that collecting, studying and disseminating information to the public - and policy-makers - are key functions of their organizations.

And it's business's established influence and resources that puts it in a position to get things done.

``If the business community comes behind an issue such as adequate funding for higher education, I think (it) has more influence than a handful of interested citizens,'' Williamson said. KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BUSINESS

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