Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 26, 1992                   TAG: 9203260122
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

THE QUESTION FACING PEROT IN VA.: WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE?

Two men - one in Northern Virginia, one in Virginia Beach - laid claim Wednesday to command of Perot's Virginia "organization." And details emerged of a bizarre episode Sunday in which two Perot groups held separate meetings yards apart in a Richmond hotel.

"You can identify me as the state coordinator," said Jim Parker of Virginia Beach, a retired Air Force officer and real estate developer, Wednesday morning. Parker cheerfully explained that he had been "designated by Dallas," home base of the fledgling Perot campaign.

"He is not the state coordinator. The Perot headquarters in Dallas is recognizing Pat Clawson [an Arlington resident and former Cable News Network reporter] as the chairman," countered Larry Friedlan, a Charlottesville businessman, in a telephone call moments later.

"We're trying to get Mr. Perot on the ballot. We're not looking for people to boss someone around," said Friedlan, implying that ego might be a force in the controversy.

"You can tell Mr. Friedlan he's as crazy as a March hare," said Parker.

Welcome to the world of Realpolitik, Mr. Perot.

"There's confusion all over," acknowledged Mark Blahnik, one of a handful of Texans trying to keep a loose check on efforts to get billionaire computer magnate Perot on the ballot in all 50 states. "All we're trying to do is get people talking together and headed down the same set of tracks."

Blahnik said he understands that the campaign has five Virginia coordinators, including Clawson and Parker.

Parker was among the first Virginians to contact the Perot Petition Committee, Blahnik said. "I asked him to take the lead for Virginia until a committee got in place," he said.

That committee now is formed, said Clawson in a telephone interview, and it designated him chairman at a Monday meeting in Richmond.

On Sunday, a group led by Parker gathered in a meeting room at the Hyatt Richmond, while another group of Perot backers met in the hotel lobby. Friedlan claims that Parker knew about the lobby group, but never invited them to join forces.

The Monday meeting - which Parker did not attend and at which Clawson was designated the Virginia chair - was an attempt to straighten out the previous night's snafu, Clawson said.

Both Parker and Clawson said they are more concerned about Perot's election than individual titles.

Some confusion is inevitable, Clawson said. "This baby is still in the birthing process."

Keywords:
POLITICS