
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995                   TAG: 9510300085
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

DEMOCRATS CRITICIZED FOR MOTOROLA MEMO

A consultant last winter urged Democrats to ``sniff out'' details of the state's confidential negotiations for a semiconductor plant and to criticize Republican Gov. George Allen for his secrecy.

The advice was offered in a memorandum that mistakenly was delivered to Del. John Watkins, R-Chesterfield, who made most of its contents public during the 1995 General Assembly session.

Watkins withheld the portion about negotiations with Motorola Inc. at the time, citing the material's sensitive nature. He said Friday that he finally was able to release that part of the memo because Motorola has now begun building its plant in Goochland County.

In the memo to ``Democratic planners,'' Cooper & Secrest Associates Inc. speculated Allen was keeping quiet about the negotiations because he was afraid of losing the project to North Carolina.

``It would seem wise for Democrats to sniff out what's going on as soon as possible, decry any secretiveness or lack of cooperativeness on the governor's part ... and be in a position to honestly claim a fair share of credit for rescuing a victory and attack Allen's secretiveness for a loss,'' the memo said.

Watkins said the memo shows Democrats were ``willing to ditch jobs and economic development'' for political gain. He sent the Motorola portion of the memo to Allen on Thursday.

Allen accused Democrats of trying to disrupt his economic development efforts. ``It is one of the most despicable things I have witnessed in all my years in public life,'' he said.

He said the memo shows Democrats ``viewed the Motorola project not as an economic opportunity for the people of Virginia, but as a political problem that threatened their century-old grip on legislative power.''

Democrats hold majorities of three seats in the Senate and four in the House of Delegates. Republicans believe they have a chance of taking control in the Nov. 7 election.

Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, the state's top Democrat, said the Republicans' complaints lack merit because the consultant's advice was ignored.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB