DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710230029

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial

                                            LENGTH:  134 lines

PILOT ENDORSEMENT BEYER FOR GOVERNOR<

After eight years of retrenchment in state government, we believe the time has come to invest in education and transportation. We cannot be a competitive state while permanently pinching pennies for essentials.

Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr. appears to share that view. It is less clear that former Attorney General James S. Gilmore III does. That is the context within which the race for governor and its centerpiece dueling tax-cut proposals must be judged.

Tax Reform: Thorough-going reform of Virginia's tax structure should be a focus of the next four years. Instead, to our regret, both campaigns have fixated largely on the property tax on cars and trucks.

Of the two proposals for reducing it, Beyer's is superior in both mechanics and philosophy. It's less likely to jeopardize the financial health of localities and, because more narrowly targeted, it's more likely to permit attention to pressing state needs.

Mechanics: The car tax is unpopular for good reason, but any relief should be equitable statewide and should aim at putting the greatest tax burden on those most able to pay.

Gilmore's proposal does neither. It uses dollars collected statewide through sales and income taxes to give disproportionate relief to Northern Virginia, where local car taxes are highest. At 1996 rates, a Fairfax County resident who owns a $15,000 car would get $686 in tax relief. A Virginia Beach resident would get a $555 break on the same car. And a Bath County resident would get $30 back.

Because the state would reimburse localities for lost car tax revenue, it would - in effect - pick up the tab for a higher level of service in some localities than in others. That's unfair. If residents of Fairfax County want to pay higher taxes in order to pay teachers higher salaries, they can. But they should do so with local money, as is now the case, not with state money as would happen under Gilmore's plan.

Similarly, the greatest benefits will accrue to families with multiple, high-priced cars. In a state where the overall tax structure already favors upper-income residents, that's poor policy.

Another worry: If the economy turns sour, the state could renege on Gilmore's promise to pick up the local car tax tab, leaving localities strapped for revenue.

By contrast, Beyer's plan to provide an income tax credit to partially offset the car tax would distribute relief fairly evenly among geographic regions. And since relief is targeted toward low-to-moderate income taxpayers, it would make the state tax structure less, not more, regressive.

Also under Beyer's plan, localities would still collect the car tax. They would not have to depend on the whims of state lawmakers and the vicissitudes of the economy for financial stability.

A final complaint about Gilmore's plan is that, under a five-year phase in, much of the cost does not come due until after he has left office. It's his way of having enough money to lower taxes and invest in education. But it's slippery to trumpet so loudly an idea that must be paid for on someone else's watch.

Philosophy: Gilmore's willingness to spend so heavily on tax relief means that major needs may go unmet. We are not opposed to tax cuts per se, but they are unwarranted at this time.

The past two governors have made only limited investment in the state's infrastructure, save for prisons. Thus, the state has accumulated multibillion-dollar needs in education and transportation.

A group of prominent business leaders, individuals not given to excess, says the state should invest more than $900 million in higher education in the next two years alone. State school superintendents point to more than $2 billion in unaddressed building needs. Transportation experts foresee construction costs totaling tens of billions in the years ahead.

Even with economic expansion and without a tax cut, the state treasury can't shoulder such demands. The larger the tax cut, the more those needs will be neglected. That risks having the state fall further behind its competitors, ill-serving its residents.

By providing targeted tax relief, Beyer's plan would make additional millions available for public schools, colleges, roads, mental health services and student financial aid. We believe these should be Virginia's priorities in the next four years.

Education: Both Beyer's personal history and his campaign platform suggest a deep commitment to public education - the area that should be Virginia's first priority in the next four years.

While Gilmore has focused on criminal justice throughout his public policy career, Beyer has long been a champion and friendly critic of public schools. He understands education issues, ranging from the problem of high school dropouts to early childhood education, from technology to funding disparities.

If the contest were between single education ideas, we might choose Gilmore's headline promise to hire 4,000 more teachers over Beyer's focus on raising teacher salaries.

But improving public education requires sustained commitment and a variety of initiatives. Beyer's agenda does not stop at teacher pay. It includes reducing the teacher-student ratio in early elementary grades to 1:15; improving pre-school opportunities for every at-risk 4-year-old before the end of his term; and making sure that every child can read independently by third grade.

Beyer's less costly tax-cut plan should allow more investment toward meeting such goals.

Beyer has endorsed the tough educational standards adopted by the Allen administration. If he becomes governor, he should be expected to keep his promise only to fine-tune them.

But he is more realistic than Gilmore in assessing what will be required to implement those standards. Beyer says correctly that the pattern of failure is likely to trace the map of poverty in Virginia.

He foresees a need for investment in remediation and in the strengthening of schools with high failure rates. Gilmore says his 4,000 teachers - who theoretically will be evenly distributed among all schools, rich or poor - will suffice. We believe that approach is flawed.

The Big Picture: Beyer's overall vision for Virginia more nearly matches what we believe is demanded in the next four years.

The law-and-order needs that helped elect Gov. George F. Allen four years ago, and that Gilmore was uniquely suited to address, have largely been dealt with. Under their leadership, parole has been abolished and juvenile justice has been reformed.

Welfare reform and tougher educational standards that also were part of Allen's agenda have become law, though they are not yet fully implemented. It is time for a new focus. In the next four years, energies should shift to public education, to repair of the state's infrastructure, to halting the decline of Virginia's cities, to protecting the environment and to improving health care.

Those are areas that have been priorities for Beyer. For that reason, and because he would be less fettered by promises to enact a costly tax cut, we believe Beyer is better suited to lead.

Continued economic prosperity also is vital. Neither man holds an advantage in that area. As a businessman, Beyer is well-aware that it takes private initiative to fuel the state's economic engine. Gilmore has an ongoing commitment to the generally successful economic policies of the Allen administration.

Both men also have demonstrated a personal commitment to steady improvement of race relations in the Old Dominion. We have been impressed by Gilmore's willingness to speak out on racial matters not historically championed by Republicans.

Despite an ugly and dispiriting political campaign, both of these men have the ability and experience to guide the commonwealth. But we believe Don Beyer will take Virginia in directions that strengthen vital institutions and improve the quality of life for a broader array of citizens. For those reasons, we endorse Beyer for governor. KEYWORDS: GUBERNATORIAL RACE VIRGINIA ENDORSEMENT

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