DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711010002

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Letters

                                            LENGTH:  125 lines

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

CAMPAIGN '97

Mayor Oberndorf did not voice support for Payne

Let's set the record straight. Your Oct. 13 article on lieutenant governor candidate L. F. Payne is misleading.

Mr. Payne adamantly opposed our pipeline. He is the man who actually filed suit to stop the Lake Gaston water project. This man has cost Virginia Beach tens of millions of dollars in legal bills, and lost business, with his aggressive efforts to stop us from bringing precious water to our homes. Now that Mr. Payne wants to get elected, boom, he sounds like a changed man.

The facts could not be clearer. In the May 11 Roanoke Times, Mr. Payne is quoted as saying ``the pipeline rewards poor planning, uncontrolled growth and the failure to conserve.'' In our own Virginian-Pilot that day, he is again quoted as using the words ``folly and injustice'' to describe the pipeline.

Your article implies that our fine mayor, Meyera E. Oberndorf, is supporting Mr. Payne. After reading this article I asked myself, ``Why in the world would the mayor support a man who has cost her beloved city millions of dollars?'' So I called her two days later and got the real story.

Mayor Oberndorf did not say she was, or was not, voting for L. F. Payne. She told me, ``My comment was simply that if he did get elected, I hope he will not be as parochial.'' This is a far cry from what your paper reported.

A vote for L. F. Payne is a vote for the man who told us to forget the pipeline and build a desalination plant, and then called us irresponsible on top of it all.

My vote will be for John Hager, a man who has supported the pipeline, and us, right from the start. Our water is too important to risk.

J. P. Godsey

Chairman

Republican Party of Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Oct. 20, 1997

Hard work should not be penalized

Don Beyer's personal-property tax plan is another example of slapping a penalty on households that have worked diligently and invested wisely to achieve a level of financial success. His plan would eliminate the tax cut for individuals with an annual income over $40,000 or for couples with an annual income over $75,000.

I wholeheartedly support a woman's decision to stay at home, and appreciate the financial sacrifices often associated with that decision. However, my decision to work had its own set of very real sacrifices - years in college while working full-time; coming home fatigued after 10 hours of work; commuting to a hungry child, baskets of laundry and bills to pay; missing special moments in my daughter's life. And that should not exclude my family from receiving benefits such as the personal-property tax cut.

When I buy a loaf of bread, I hope to always pay the same as anyone else, regardless of income. Hard work and sacrifice should not be penalized!

Barbara Ryan

Virginia Beach, Oct. 26, 1997

Vouchers a threat to our public schools

Everyone wants tax relief. What we must be wary of is how much we are willing to give up to get that relief. What will be the cost in the long and short runs? How will this lost revenue be replaced?

Counting on projected revenue increases is unrealistic. Somehow we will have to replace the lost revenue or reduce funding to some very important areas, including public education. This prospect could result in a very grim picture for public education, our most precious commodity. If we want to ensure better quality for our students and attract the best educators to teach them, we must have the resources to do so.

The car tax should not be the main issue in this election. The key issue is school vouchers. Why? Because vouchers threaten to destroy public education. If public funds are diverted to private education, only the poor and disenfranchised will be left in public schools; quality will decline, and we will be faced with a society of haves and have-nots.

Don Beyer, L. F. Payne and Bill Dolan make up a team committed to preserving, protecting and improving quality education in Virginia for all of our children. On Election Day, I will be proud to give them my vote.

Marian D. Flickinger

President

Norfolk Federation of Teachers

Norfolk, Oct. 24, 1997

Beyer's on the side of police, firefighters

There are more issues involved in the race for governor than just the car tax. The Virginia Professional Firefighters and the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police have both endorsed Don Beyer for governor. Beyer's stand on public safety far surpasses that of Gilmore because Beyer believes in protecting the people who perform the most dangerous jobs in Virginia.

While Jim Gilmore was attorney general, he attempted to eliminate Worker's Compensation protection for police and firefighters who develop heart and lung problems as a result of their jobs.

Give us a governor who appreciates the sacrifices that public safety employees make for you.

Christopher Kreisel

V.P. Professional Firefighters of Chesapeake

Chesapeake, Oct. 27, 1997

Buy Beyer's plan for tax cut

Virginians wanting real relief from the car tax should take a good look at both gubernatorial candidates' proposals.

Jim Gilmore's scheme to cut the car tax is ridiculous. His plan would not take full effect until 2002 and only gives a meager $86 in relief to taxpayers with two cars. Gilmore's plan costs $1.3 billion a year. His tax plan is also unconstitutional, according to A. E. Dick Howard, University of Virginia professor and chief author of Virginia's 1971 Constitution.

Don Beyer's proposal to eliminate the car tax is more realistic. His plan would take full effect next July, giving $250 in relief to burdened taxpayers. Beyer's system only costs $202 million per year. Most important, his plan is constitutional.

I'm putting my support behind Don Beyer.

Arthur Brock

Virginia Beach, Oct. 22, 1997

Beyer will help fight sex crimes

When he was elected lieutenant governor, one of Don Beyer's primary objectives was to develop intense treatment programs for drug and sex offenders. Statistics show that the recidivism rate for rape is about 40 percent without treatment, but only 17 percent with treatment. Still, one of George Allen's first acts as governor was to end these programs, claiming that they don't work. It is true that they can't work for everyone, but they clearly help.

Jim Gilmore has already shown, through his comments and actions, that he is as bad as Allen. It's time for us to stop electing hatemongers and choose leaders who will do what is best for society. Electing Don Beyer would be a step in the right direction.

Mickey Smith

Chesapeake, Oct. 23, 1997

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