DATE: Saturday, October 25, 1997            TAG: 9710250387

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEDYARD KING, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  159 lines

VOTER POLLS DIFFER ON VALUE OF ENDORSEMENTS

Kim Beisecker of Blacksburg has four school-age children.

So when the Virginia Education Association, representing thousands of teachers statewide, threw its endorsement behind Democratic gubernatorial nominee Donald S. Beyer Jr., Beisecker is just the type of voter who should have taken notice.

After all, the VEA endorsement implies that Beyer, not Republican opponent James S. Gilmore III, would do a better job improving Virginia's public schools.

But Beisecker doesn't pay much heed to the VEA. As much as politicians court the association, the Blacksburg parent and school activist isn't convinced the group really speaks for the typical classroom teacher - or understands what's best for children.

``Whether it's the teachers or the police officers, I'm not sure who's (deciding the endorsement), whether it's the average police officer or paid union officials,'' she said. ``It would have questionable value to me.''

Beisecker's disregard of political endorsements, whether it's state workers, police officers or coal miners, is shared by many voters in Virginia.

State voters are more apt to cast ballots based on a candidate's views, personal history and character than someone else's endorsement, according to a poll conducted last year for The Virginian-Pilot and Roanoke Times during a U.S. Senate campaign.

In contrast, another survey - one that focused on state lawmakers - suggests groups command more influence.

Slightly more than half those polled, 52 percent, said an endorsement by the VEA would make them want to vote for that candidate, according to the 1996 survey for Virginia Free, a Richmond-based, nonpartisan group that conducts political research for business and industry.

But even Beyer, whose list of political endorsements is longer than Gilmore's this campaign, concedes that voters depend on many sources to make their decision.

``I don't think the (police) endorsement alone matters,'' said Beyer, who's also been endorsed by the state lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. ``It's a piece of information that helps them make up their minds.''

And the value of endorsements is shaky when the reasons that groups back a candidate appear narrow and based on self-interest. Teachers, for example, support Beyer, who is proposing an education platform calling for pay raises. Police officers and firefighters also are backing Beyer, because Gilmore, as attorney general, challenged some of their benefits.

The Gilmore campaign has characterized the endorsement as a quid pro quo: Endorse Beyer and he'll improve your pay or increase your benefits.

``The union bosses tend to go for the Democratic candidates,'' Gilmore spokesman Mark Miner said after the police lodge surprisingly backed Beyer. ``We'll get the rank-and-file support from law enforcement.''

``They didn't think we were union bosses when they were courting us,'' countered State FOP President Garth Wheeler, who spent 18 years as a Virginia Beach police officer.

Four years ago, the lodge backed Gilmore when he ran for attorney general.

Whether or not voters use them, endorsements provide a range of benefits to candidates.

Groups like the National Rifle Association can pour money into a campaign. State workers can furnish the knocking power for door-to-door stumping or bodies for get-out-the-vote phone banks during the critical last two weeks of the campaign. The Fraternal Order of Police can help legitimize a candidate's stand on crime.

``The only advantage of the FOP endorsement is that it gives Beyer an automatic retort every time Gilmore accuses him of being weak on crime,'' said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. ``(FOP) members will vote the way they want to. They're lucky to control their own executive committee.''

Rank-and-file members don't necessarily listen, either.

Gilmore was working the line at a seafood festival in Lancaster County last month when a woman sheepishly approached him.

``I'm a teacher and I'm really embarrassed,'' Joan Gravatt told him.

``What do you mean?'' Gilmore asked. ``The VEA endorsement?''

``Yes,'' she admitted.

Gilmore smiled and offered this comfort to her: ``Don't worry, we've got plenty of teachers.''

Despite his string of endorsements, Beyer could not land the one he courted so eagerly: that of former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

Wilder, the nation's first elected black governor, this week decided not to endorse either candidate. It was interpreted as a clear victory for Gilmore.

But whether it will hurt Beyer's ability to win African-American support at the ballot box remains another matter.

Portsmouth nurse Sylvia Armistead, who is black, voted for Wilder in 1985 when he ran for lieutenant governor and in 1989 when he ran for governor. But she said Wilder's non-endorsement means nothing to her this time.

``I don't let people decide for me,'' she said. ``There are many decisions that are made for me I know nothing about.''

Armistead said she probably won't make up her mind until she enters the voting booth.

But Glenda Thomas of Riner in Montgomery County believes that's when endorsements matter most: when those undecided, last-minute voters remember a group's advice right before they pull the lever.

``Endorsements have their place,'' Thomas said, ``but you would certainly hope the majority of people would make their own decisions.'' ILLUSTRATION: Beyer

Gilmore

LIST OF ENDORSEMENTS

GOVERNOR

Donald S. Beyer Jr.

Democrat

Virginia Education Association

Fraternal Order of Police

Clean Water Action

Conserve Virginia

American Federation of Teachers

National Abortion Rights Action League

Crusade for Voters

Virginia Professional Firefighters

AFL-CIO

United Mine Workers

Husapac

Business and Professional Women

Black Farmers Association

Voters for Choice

Public Safety Violation

James S. Gilmore III

Republican

Law Enforcement Alliance of America

60-Plus

LT. GOVERNOR

L.F. Payne

Democrat

Virginia Fraternal Order of Police

Virginia Education Association

Virginia Professional Firefighters Association

Virginia Association of Realtors

Virginia Oil and Gas Association

Virginia Legislative Black Caucus

Virginia Chapter, AFL-CIO

Greater Washington Board of Trade

Virginia Chapter - United Mine Workers of America

Virginia Chapter - National Association of Social Workers

Richmond Crusade for Voters

Fifth Congressional District Black Caucus

John H. Hager

Republican

Virginia Medical Society

Virginia Society for Human Life

ATTORNEY GENERAL

William D. Dolan III

Democrat

Virginia Fraternal Order of Police

Virginia Education Association

Virginia Chapter, AFL-CIO

Virginia Chapter - United Mine Workers of America

Greater Washington Board of Trade

Mark L. Earley

Republican

Virginia Professional Firefighters Association

Law Enforcement Alliance of America

Virginia Realtors/RPAC

Campaign for Working Families

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