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

DATE: SATURDAY, March 27, 1993                   TAG: 9303270274
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

WILDER STILL WANTS FIRING POWER GOVERNOR FILES APPEAL WITH HIGH COURT

Gov. Douglas Wilder has filed a brief with the Virginia Supreme Court claiming he should have had the right to fire former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry as lawyer for the state's pension fund.

In a 35-page brief filed this week, Wilder's attorneys contended he is empowered to dismiss another independently elected official from job assigned by statute.

Richmond Circuit Judge Robert Harris blocked Wilder in December from firing Terry as counsel to the $14.2 billion Virginia Retirement System.

The state Supreme Court has not decided whether it will consider Wilder's appeal.

David Parsons, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, declined comment Friday. The office has about three weeks to respond.

Terry has won enough delegates to the Democratic Party's state convention this summer to assure her the nomination as party's nominee for governor. She resigned her position as attorney general in January to campaign full time.

She was succeeded by her chief deputy, Stephen Rosenthal, who has pledged to fight Wilder's appeal.

Although Wilder has endorsed Terry, he has not retracted his criticism of her investigation of the retirement system and its real estate development arm, RF&P Corp. Terry said she found that both organizations were unnecessarily secretive and poorly managed.

As a result of her findings, Wilder tried to replace her as counsel to the VRS. Terry responded with a lawsuit that claimed Wilder had no authority to fire her.

by CNB