Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 14, 1993 TAG: 9309140227
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DALE EISMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
An Allen television commercial that debuted over the weekend attacks the Wilder administration for spending $30 million last year "to send state workers and politicians to conventions."
Standing in front of a jetliner on an airport tarmac, Allen repeats the total in an incredulous tone and tells viewers that, as a congressman, "I cut my own office budget 15 percent and saved taxpayers $140,000. I know how to do it."
The ad does not mention Democratic nominee Terry, who for some time has been airing her own commercial on wasteful spending. In that ad, she notes that roughly half of every dollar in state aid to public schools is spent on something other than instruction.
Wilder, looking to close a projected $500 million shortfall in the state budget for 1994-96, has pooh-poohed suggestions by Allen and Terry that significant waste can be found in state agency budgets. He has directed agency heads to examine their budgets and recommend program cuts to eliminate the shortfall.
National magazine rankings that say Virginia has the nation's best-managed state government have been perhaps Wilder's proudest achievement as governor.
Allen's $30 million travel figure came from the state Department of Accounts. David Von-Moll, the department's manager of disbursements review and assistance, said the total includes the cost of conventions, seminars, workshops and courses for state workers and elected officials.
The total is less than one-half of 1 percent of the state's general fund budget for the fiscal year that ended June 30, but Robert Hols worth, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University, suggested that won't diminish its value politically.
"Any good state government will want to have its workers be engaged in continuing education, updating their skills. . . . However, at a time when people are upset about government spending, I think Allen has found an issue that should get him some mileage," Holsworth said.
While the ad doesn't mention Terry, its tag line, "an honest new generation of leadership," helps remind viewers that Allen is "somebody new and different," Holsworth said. Terry has been keeping her distance from Wilder but is running as the natural successor to her fellow Democrat and has his endorsement.
The Allen commercial marks the Republican's return to the airwaves after a three-week absence. But while he's running a new ad, the comparatively cash-strapped Allen continues to lag behind Terry in spending on air time. Spot checks with several stations last week indicated she was buying roughly twice as much time as Allen in some markets.
Terry has run commercials continuously since early August, but polls suggest she has not been able to capitalize on Allen's silence. Two surveys published in the last two weeks have put the candidates in a statistical dead heat.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB