Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 16, 1994 TAG: 9403160089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short
The governor said his acceptance is based on some conditions.
"I want to make sure they don't discriminate based on race or religion as a matter of policy," Allen told reporters Tuesday when asked about the club's invitation, traditionally offered Virginia's governors.
His acceptance would break a 12-year string in which his three Democratic predecessors refused to take the club up on its offer.
In 1982, then-Gov. Charles Robb declined to accept an honorary membership because the downtown club did not admit blacks or women. His successors, Govs. Gerald Baliles and Douglas Wilder, followed suit.
The club now has at least one black member, a club official said Tuesday.
Despite their objections, both Robb and Baliles participated in functions at the club, as long as women and blacks were not prohibited from attending.
Reminded by a reporter that he did not mention the club's exclusion of women from membership, Allen indicated that race and religion were the two most important considerations for his decision. He said there are separate men's and women's clubs that are private.
His press secretary, Ken Stroupe, later explained the governor had received invitations from both the Commonwealth Club and the Country Club of Virginia.
"The governor instructed his staff to contact them and has asked for a clarification of their membership and acceptance policies," Stroupe said Tuesday. "The governor will not accept membership - even honorary membership - if they discriminate on the basis of race or religion."
by CNB