
DATE: Tuesday, September 23, 1997           TAG: 9709240711

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: DECISION '97

SOURCE: BY LAURA LaFAY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  320 lines

LEGISLATOR EARLEY BELIEVES NICE GUYS CAN FINISH FIRST

Ask Mark Earley about his greatest accomplishment during 10 years in the Virginia Senate, and his answer may surprise you. It's not the passage ofthe parental notification bill or his role in welfare reform or the abolition of parole.

It's his conduct in office.

``To date, the thing I'm probably most proud of is not so much specific bills or specific legislation, but the way I've tried to go about being in public office,'' the Chesapeake Republican said in a recent interview.

``The way I've tried to build bridges with people - whether in other parties or other parts of the state - and tried to bring an approach to public policy that's reasoned and recognizes the value of debate.''

He has, by many accounts, succeeded. Even those who strongly disagree with Earley's conservative, Christian values-driven political agenda say they respect the sincerity and commitment he brings to the table.

``In personal terms, I think everyone recognizes that Mark's a person of substantial integrity who works hard and seems to respect the legislature as an institution and not just a platform for expressing his own views,'' says Virginia Commonwealth University political scientist Bob Holsworth.

``As an individual, he has widespread respect.''

Earley, one of two children, was born in Norfolk and raised in the Oaklet section of Chesapeake, where he still lives. His father worked for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and his mother recently retired from the Chesapeake School Board.

``I didn't realize it growing up, but it was a functional family,'' he said. ``They were always home, and their focus was pretty much on my brother and me and doing what they could to create opportunities for us. (There was) a lot of nurture, a lot of encouragement, a lot of love.''

As a child, Earley made quite an impression on his teachers, including Carol Fleming, who taught him English and drama at Indian River High School.

Twenty-five years after his graduation, Fleming, now principal of Oscar Smith Middle School, still refers to her former student as ``that darling little Mark Earley.''

``First of all, he was just brilliant,'' she said.

``But it wasn't just that. It was his ability to understand human dynamics, even as a child. He had such perception. I think that's what made him such a good little actor.''

Fleming, who still keeps in touch with Earley, is hard-pressed to think of any shortcomings he might have.

``He's just clean,'' she said. ``He's just squeaky clean. It almost worries you a little bit.''

Jim Page, Earley's band director at Indian River, also keeps in touch with Earley. As a student, said Page, Earley changed his life by inviting him to a ``Men's Bible Breakfast.''

``He was a person of faith, even then,'' Page said. ``But he didn't try to force his beliefs on anyone. He just lived them.''

Earley's interest in religion intensified during his sophomore year at the College of William and Mary when he took a course in American Church History.

The writings of John Wesley - the founder of the Methodist Church - were especially meaningful to him.

``I was impressed with him for a number of reasons,'' said Earley. ``First, he had tremendous personal discipline and commitment to a vision over an incredibly long period of time.

``Second, I was attracted to him because of his tremendous commitment to blending faith with social justice. The whole Methodist movement in England led to tremendous social change for the betterment of the lower class, the workers and the poor. That was a big emphasis of Wesley's. I admired that.''

Earley's time in the Philippines was marked by social and political turmoil as the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos disbanded the Filipino Congress and began cracking down on political opposition. It was this experience, says Earley, that persuaded him to go into politics.

``I saw soldiers in the street on Election Day and . . . I woke up,'' he said. ``I realized all the things we take for granted in this country.''

Earley went to law school, married and moved back to Chesapeake. He built a broad support base - including the AFL-CIO; the African-American group Chesapeake Forward; and The Society for Human Life - and ran for the Senate in 1987, defeating Democratic incumbent William T. Parker.

His General Assembly career has been defined by his promotion of issues important to the religious right.

Earley has worked to restrict abortion, to abolish parole and welfare and, recently, to introduce a constitutional amendment enshrining the rights of parents to ``direct the upbringing'' of their children.

But he has also been open to labor-related issues and has worked on behalf of the mentally ill.

``On labor and affirmative action, he's to the left of some Democrats,'' observes Bill Wood, executive director of the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

On the other hand, Earley's tactics on behalf of issues of great personal conviction have not endeared him to those of equal passion on the other side.

Karen Raschke, a lawyer and the director of Planned Parenthood of Virginia, said Earley stood up on the Senate floor two years ago and ``purposely mischaracterized'' a court opinion about clinic access laws. He did this, Raschke said, to make it sound as though the opinion affirmed his stand on pending legislation.

``And everyone believed him because he sounds so sincere and no one else had read the opinion,'' she said.

``I told him to his face that he was either a bad lawyer or he was lying. I told him I didn't know which was worse.''

Earley responded ``as he always does, in a very kind fashion,'' said Raschke. ``He's never been anything less than very kind to me.''

That was not quite the case in an incident involving Portsmouth Democrat L. Louise Lucas.

Lucas, who says she disagrees with Earley about ``almost everything,'' had introduced legislation that would have allowed foster children over age 18 to continue to get welfare benefits so long as they were in school or job-training. Earley fought her, tooth and nail, Lucas said, until the bill was defeated.

``He came over to my desk after we had adjourned, and we just got right in each other's faces,'' she recalled.

``We were screaming at each other. ``He said, `Why don't you just call me a Nazi or a racist?' I said, `I don't have to call you anything.' Now there was a time when I would have called him names. But I'm a Christian, and I can't do that anymore.''

``I think his emotions drove him at the moment - as mine drove me,'' Lucas said of the incident.

``He is a nice person, and he is well-intended. But I think he is just so wrong-headed on some of the issues. When I look at him, I see Pat Robertson. I see Jerry Falwell.''

Earley sighs when asked about his opponents' tendency to identify him with Robertson, the Virginia Beach televangelist who has contributed generously to his campaigns.

``The way I try to respond to that is to simply say, `Hello? I've been in office 10 years. I've walked into the Senate chamber for 10 years now and interacted with the public and interacted with the media. If you'll just look at who Mark Earley is and what he's done, I think it will withstand the test of scrutiny.' ''

Earley continues to regard himself as a man of faith working to promote basic Christian values in the world. The main thrust of his campaign, as well of his life, he said, is that ``every human life has dignity and worth.''

``The dignity and worth of each individual . . . is at the core of my faith. And that is that there is a loving God that created us. And, because of that, we all have incredible value and worth. Whatever we do in our communities and our personal life, we really need to recognize the value of people.''

Ask Mark Earley about his greatest accomplishment during 10 years in the Virginia Senate, and his answer may surprise you. It's not the passage of the parental notification bill or his role in welfare reform or the abolition of parole.

It's his conduct in office.

``As an individual, he has widespread respect.''

Earley, one of two children, was born in Norfolk and raised in the Oaklette section of Chesapeake, where he still lives. His father worked for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and his mother recently retired from the Chesapeake School Board.