Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 31, 1993 TAG: 9308310261
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DALE EISMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The 7,000-member order's backing gave Allen a boost in what has been the most spirited running debate of the campaign: which candidate would be the toughest on crime.
Allen quickly hailed the endorsement as a vote of confidence in the centerpiece of his anti-crime pitch, a proposal to abolish parole. And his top aides, citing Terry's plea to the police group in a debate Saturday to "think back to the past and what you know to have been . . . my record," said the endorsement amounted to a slap at her seven-year tenure as state attorney general.
"She's had seven years to do something about gun violence, seven years to do her job and do something to get criminals off the streets, and she hasn't done it," said Jay Timmons, Allen's press secretary.
The campaigns apparently learned of the police group's decision early Monday; Terry moved quickly to counter it by accusing Allen of pandering to the group with talk of increasing police pay and retirement benefits. She called a news conference and for the benefit of TV cameras displayed a stuffed "pander bear" she said symbolized Allen's attempt to woo the police and other groups with promises the state can't afford.
"This endorsement wasn't about law enforcement, this was about pay raises," said Terry spokesman Jay Marlin.
For weeks, Terry scarcely has let a day pass without touting her support for gun controls, principally a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases. The idea, which Allen opposes, enjoys broad support among police and polls suggest it's popular with the general public.
The police group endorsed Terry in her 1985 and '89 races for attorney general, but state president Garth Wheeler told The Associated Press that "the representatives at the meeting felt we needed a change. There are several issues we've been pushing for several years - like truth in sentencing and trying to get criminals longer sentences - and we felt those issues would be better addressed by the candidates we chose."
Virginia Commonwealth University political scientist Robert Holsworth said, "If they had endorsed Terry again, it would have taken one of the issues that Allen has worked hard to develop - crime - right off the table." He said the police group's backing is "one of the pieces that might enable Allen to run a competitive campaign."
In addition to Allen, the police group endorsed Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, a Democrat, for re-election, and Jim Gilmore, the GOP candidate for attorney general.
Though the police group's backing was aggresively sought, its influence even among police is subject to debate. While Gilmore was celebrating his backing Monday, his opponent, Bill Dolan, announced he had been endorsed by the Virginia Coalition of Police and Sheriffs.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB