
DATE: Monday, October 6, 1997               TAG: 9710060048

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  136 lines

DONORS' PET ISSUES AT STAKE TOP GIVERS: LAWYERS, ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS AND ELECTRIC UTILITIES

While the average voter might pay little attention to the race for state attorney general, the two candidates for the job are getting big contributions from groups that know the office's power to affect the lives of Virginians.

Democrat William G. Dolan III raised more than $700,000 by Sept. 1, and his Republican opponent, Mark Earley, raised $625,000. Much of the money is coming from groups that hope to have the state's lead lawyer in their corner: anti-abortion groups, electric-utility interests and attorneys.

It's no surprise that attorneys and law firms account for the biggest share of contributions to the attorney general's race. The winner of the election, after all, will help define the laws that lawyers work with every day.

The attorney general's job is to make sure that Virginia's laws - such as consumer protection rules, environmental regulations or laws on abortion - are enforced. The office handles zoning issues and lawsuits against the state. Legislators often ask the state's attorneys to interpret laws and to offer opinions on whether pending legislation is constitutional.

But while lawyers have an obvious stake in the race, the single largest contribution to Earley came from a different source.

A national political action committee, Campaign for Working Families, donated $37,500. The PAC is run by Gary Bauer, who is president of the Family Research Council, a group that supports a constitutional ban on abortion and opposes extending company benefits to gay couples.

Virginia is one of only five states that place no limits on who can contribute or how much they can give.

The PAC is interested in the Virginia race because of Mark Earley's stands on family-based issues, including his position on abortion.

That issue is likely to become prominent for the attorney general in the coming months. The federal courts are reviewing a challenge to the state's ``parental notification'' act, a bill Earley sponsored repeatedly that requires doctors to notify a legal guardian before performing an abortion for a minor. The bill passed in March, and the law took effect in July.

The case, Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge, et al. vs. James L. Camblos, Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney, et al., is awaiting a panel hearing in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. No date has been set for the case, and it seems likely that if Earley becomes attorney general, he'll represent the state on the issue.

``Mark Earley has been on the forefront of the Senate in bringing in sweeping reforms. . . . Welfare reform has come under challenge, parental notification has come under challenge,'' said Anne Kincaid, Earley's spokeswoman. ``Who better to defend the gains than the man who got them there in the first place? You work hard to get initiatives to become law, but if the wrong person is there having to defend them in the higher courts, you could lose them all.''

But Karen Raschke, director of Planned Parenthood and a lawyer in the case on parental notification, said that Earley would likely devote a lot of resources to defending a bill that, she believes, is unconstitutional.

``It could be sad to see how much energy and money the office would pour into this if he was the attorney general,'' Raschke said. ``He would be trying hard to vindicate himself. I don't doubt that he'll do the job in office, but I know that he has a separate agenda and will pursue both with vigor.''

George Twigg, a spokesman for Dolan, said that Dolan, too, will defend the bill ``vigorously'' if elected.

``He doesn't think it was written very well, but he's been saying that he has defended worse cases,'' Twigg said. ``He has always supported the concept of notification, but unlike Mark he's opposed to parental consent.''

Connie Mackey, executive director of the Campaign for Working Families, said her group raises money for anti-abortion and pro-family candidates. She said that while the PAC has never given to state candidates before, it felt compelled to give to Earley because of his record as a state senator.

``He has done some things in the state, in his position as a senator, that we support,'' Mackey said. ``He's interested in parental notification and returning the power of raising children to the family. He epitomizes everything that we hope to find in other candidates. He has an intellectual understanding of what it means for parents to have full control in raising their children.''

Earley sponsored a number of bills on abortion, including legislation to ban so-called ``partial-birth abortions,'' a proposal that failed in the Health and Education committee. He also sponsored another bill mandating first- or second-degree murder charges against anyone who - knowing the possible consequences - commits a crime that causes a pregnant woman to miscarry. That bill was approved in March and took effect in July.

About 42 percent of Earley's money came from Hampton Roads contributors, including a big chunk - $40,000 - from Pat Robertson and his son, Timothy.

Earley sponsored two tax-relief bills for Pat Robertson. One, a sales and use tax exemption for his international relief group Operation Blessing, was approved in 1995 as part of a legislative package. The other, a controversial property-tax exemption in 1994 for an upscale retirement community called Founders Village, failed.

Robertson said he supports Earley because ``he has a brilliant grasp of statewide issues,'' and is ``a dedicated family man, and a very strong Christian.''

Dolan is getting much of his money, about 48 percent, from Northern Virginia. Attorneys are giving to his campaign at more than twice the rate at which they're giving to Earley's.

In recent years, the trial lawyers have tried to get more insurance coverage for people injured by the government or through the government's negligence. The government has immunity from many lawsuits, and the attorney general argued on behalf of the state in not making changes to the law.

As a senator, Earley also sponsored a bill giving teachers immunity if students are injured as a result of something that happens during the school day. Teachers unions and insurance companies supported the bill, while the Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association opposed it. It passed this year.

Companies, individuals and political action committees involved with electric utilities are also among the top 10 givers to both of the candidates, probably because the industry faces deregulation over the next few years. The attorney general's office probably will be asked to offer opinions and to interpret laws governing the industry. Those rulings can affect the cost of electricity and the profits that utilities make.

``Electrical deregulation is an issue that . . . leads a lot of groups to contribute,'' said Twigg, Dolan's spokesman. ``It's going to be very complicated; there are a number of different interests that will be interested in the attorney general's rulings on it and how it will be implemented.''

Kincaid said she believes most Virginians realize how important this race is to the state.

``People want someone who is their attorney, the attorney for all Virginians,'' she said. ``It's not just donations; it's investing in your future.'' ILLUSTRATION: ATTORNEY'S GENERAL'S RACE

How much has been raised?

Republican Mark L. Earley $625,000

Democrat William D. Dolan III: $700,000

GRAPHIC

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm on page A13 for this

date.]

WILLIAM DOLAN TOP 10 CATEGORIES

MARK EARLEY TOP 10 CATEGORIES

MARK EARLEY TOP 10 GIVERS

WILLIAM DOLAN TOP 10 GIVERS

WILLIAM DOLAN TOP 5 INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS FROM HAMPTON ROADS

MARK EARLEY TOP 5 INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS FROM HAMPTON ROADS