Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Former President Bush confirmed Monday that he'll attend a fund-raising dinner for Warner in Richmond, despite objections from state party Chairman Pat McSweeney.
Virginia's Republican senator said Bush's decision shows that he, and not McSweeney, speaks for most Republicans in the state.
Last week, McSweeney wrote to ask Bush not to attend the April 10 event, complaining Warner was "hiding in the tall grass" when Bush ran for re-election in 1992.
"The plans have not changed at all," Bush spokesman Jim McGrath said from Houston. "He's had a position of supporting Republican incumbents, especially in the Senate. I think that's the crux of the matter."
McSweeney could not be reached for comment, but Warner, in Roanoke on Monday for a day of private meetings with business leaders, called a news conference to highlight Bush's letter. He also talked about his efforts to win a baseball team for Northern Virginia.
Major League Baseball appears likely to grant two new franchises to begin play in 1997 or 1998 and two more in 2000.
"I'm confident Virginia can get in; if not in the first round, then it'll get in the second round," Warner said.
Phoenix and St. Petersburg, Fla., are considered the favorites for the first round; Northern Virginia and Orlando, Fla., are the only other areas in the running, although more could be added later.
Warner said he opposed congressional action to end the baseball strike because it would hurt the chances for any expansion. "If you start doing a legislative end-run, it creates an uncertainity as to the value of a franchise," Warner said. That might drive the price up beyond what the two Northern Virginia groups bidding for a franchise could afford, he said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB