Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 15, 1995 TAG: 9505160007
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
When a Missouri fireworks dealer who wanted to expand his operations to the East Coast learned that Virginia prohibits most of his products, he hired Richmond lobbyist Jeff Smith to help him.
Smith turned to Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke, and asked him to introduce a bill relaxing Virginia's restrictions on fireworks.
Woodrum agreed, saying a change in the law to allow more fireworks sales sounded like a good way to expand business opportunities in the state. This past winter, Woodrum lined up co-sponsors and lobbied fellow members of the House Committee on Corporations, Insurance and Banking. For a time, he says, he thought he had a majority of the panel in favor of the bill.
But when opposition developed from the state fire marshal's office and existing fireworks dealers who apparently feared increased competition, Woodrum withdrew the bill and told the lobbyist to try to satisfy their concerns.
If a compromise can be struck, Woodrum said he might introduce the bill again next year.
Now, that same Missouri fireworks dealer and a friend in the fireworks business have contributed $3,000 to Woodrum's re-election campaign.
Such a contribution is not improper or unusual. Businesses routinely give to political candidates who support their interests in the General Assembly. Nor is $3,000 an especially large sum of money in a House of Delegates campaign these days.
But the case of how fireworks dealers in tiny Eagleville, Mo., came to take a financial interest in the re-election of a Democratic legislator from Roanoke offers a glimpse into how the legislative process works - and the ways in which lobbyists and legislators influence each other.
Gregory Shelton is America's fireworks king. From a small county seat in northwest Missouri, he runs Shelton Wholesale, which lobbyist Jeff Smith says is the world's biggest fireworks distributor. For now, Shelton sells fireworks from California to Chicago. But lately, Smith says, Shelton has been eyeing the East Coast market - especially Virginia, because it's centrally located.
Virginia, though, allows only six types of fireworks to be sold to the public - mild-mannered explosives known as sparklers, fountains, pharaoh's serpents, pistol caps, whirligigs and spinning jennies.
That may be enough for a seasonal roadside stand. But it's not enough for the kind of year-round store that Shelton had in mind. "A retailer has to have more than six items on a shelf," Smith says.
Last winter, Smith approached Woodrum about introducing a bill to benefit his client by allowing the sale of more powerful fireworks.
Why Woodrum? For one thing, Smith says, Woodrum is a senior member of the House committee that would handle the bill. Also, he says, Woodrum is skilled at forging a legislative coalition - and the lobbyist says he saw the potential for the public to become alarmed by misinformation about explosives.
"You're looking for somebody with knowledge of the legislative process, who's a well-respected legislator and has the ability to create a fair hearing on the issue," Smith says.
Finally, the lobbyist says, there's the local-option angle: Virginia allows fireworks to be sold only where localities say it's OK. And most of the localities that allow fireworks sales are rural. Even though Woodrum represents an urban and suburban district, Smith says he figured that, because Woodrum comes from Western Virginia, "he'd have a better understanding of the rural areas' concerns."
Woodrum says he met with Shelton himself for only about five minutes; most of his dealings were with the lobbyist Smith, whom he knew because Smith also represents the Virginia Financial Services Association before the banking committee on which Woodrum serves.
Woodrum says Smith told him that Shelton was hoping to locate a retail outlet along Interstate 95, perhaps expanding later to I-81 or I-64.
Woodrum also says it's not unusual for a lobbyist to seek out a legislator to introduce a bill that doesn't have a direct impact on his district - or for legislators to put in such a bill, if they agree with the intent of the legislation.
"Jeff Smith put it to me like it was an economic development matter," Woodrum says. "He said if you can broaden the list [of fireworks] you can sell, you broaden opportunities in commerce. That is one of the things we're supposed to be about."
Woodrum says he talked to the other 21 members of the House committee. "It looked to me at one point I had a chance, and then it started fading away," Woodrum says. "Everybody that sold fireworks started raising the very devil, and the fire marshal said he didn't like it." In all, Woodrum says about 20 people phoned his office to express opposition to the bill.
"I'm not willing to put in something and run it over the fire marshal," Woodrum says. So he withdrew the bill and advised the lobbyist he ought to find some way to assuage the opponents' concerns.
About a month later, Woodrum - facing opposition for the first time in 10 years - started raising money for his re-election. As is customary, he held a fund-raiser in Richmond and sent invitations to prominent lobbyists - Smith among them.
"He usually represents the financial institutions," Woodrum says. "I thought he would ask them [for a contribution]. That's what I sent it to him for."
But Smith also discussed the invitation with Shelton. "He thought it would be in everybody's interest that he should probably make a contribution," Smith says.
As Shelton describes it: "Mr. Woodrum - he likes fireworks. We want to contribute and support people that like fireworks."
Shelton wrote a personal check for $1,000, and his company sent another $1,000. Shelton also asked Burt's Fireworks, a "friendly" competitor in Eagleville, to send $1,000 - for a total of $3,000.
The legislator and the lobbyist say the contributions shouldn't be interpreted as a "thank-you" to Woodrum for introducing the bill, or encouragement to offer a similar bill next year.
"It doesn't make a difference," Smith says. "It has no impact whatsoever on whether legislation is successful. It never has." Instead, he says, the fireworks distributor simply wanted to make sure he had a "presence" in Virginia. "It would be no different from the Chesapeake Corporation or Philip Morris making a contribution," Smith says.
Woodrum agrees. The fireworks contributions can't be considered a "thank-you" for pushing the fireworks bill, he says, because "I killed that bill. I killed that bill myself." Besides, he says, "I get a lot of contributions from business. That doesn't stand out any more than the others."
As for the future of fireworks, Smith says he's hoping to persuade the committee chairman, Del. George Heilig, D-Norfolk, to commission a study on the issue. Woodrum says he's hopeful something can be worked out. "I think Roman candles should be sold," he says.
by CNB