Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510270138
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: G4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
TRIXIE AVERILL (R): Says Cranwell "sold out" his district when he opposed key portions of Gov. George Allen's budget-cutting and tax-cutting program. Says she'd be an enthusiastic supporter of Allen's agenda and can think of few instances where she'd disagree with the governor.
CLIFTON "CHIP" WOODRUM (D): Says he is resolved to represent Roanoke and not any one governor or any one cause. Says he wants to continue working to preserve state funding for projects and programs at home. He's stressed his sponsorship of legislation during the last General Assembly session that paved the way for the Hotel Roanoke restoration and his vote against budget cuts that would have eliminated nine police-officer positions in Roanoke and Roanoke County.
NEWELL FALKINBURG (R): Says Woodrum's 16 years in office have bred "politics as usual." He's pledged to serve no more than eight years and vowed to fight for term limits. Says he agrees with much of Gov. George Allen's agenda. Says philosophically he's "right there with him."
VIC THOMAS (D): Says he has an unwavering commitment to prevention. What he defines as prevention ranges from prenatal care to Meals on Wheels to education, which are all programs he says were threatened by the governor last session. Says he's committed to increasing state spending in higher and public education.
JEFF ARTIS (R): Says Thomas is "a liberal masquerading as a conservative," whereas he truly is a conservative. Accuses Thomas of being soft on crime and stresses that his first priority if elected is to support the governor's proposals, with the exception of any legislation that attempts to restrict abortion rights or reduce higher education spending.
CLAUDE WHITEHEAD (D): Says the Allen agenda being pushed by Republicans is the wrong one for Virginia. Says the Republicans are trying to increase the state's debt for political gain without considering the consequences. Says Dudley is nothing more than an Allen clone. Whitehead says he is "a fiscal conservative in the tradition of Virginia leaders."
ALLEN DUDLEY (R): Says the less state government - and the more local control - the better. Says he believed in many of Allen's initiatives before they moved to the political forefront. Says Virginia schools need greater accountability.
JIM SHULER (D): Says he wants to continue his efforts to support education, especially given the history of the governor's attempt to cut higher education spending this year. Says if Republicans do succeed in winning control of the legislature, then committee chairmanships will go to Northern Virginia, further hurting the New River Valley and the rest of Western Virginia's efforts to end school disparity and make sure it gets its fair slice of the pie.
LARRY LINKOUS (R): Says he'll be a more effective delegate, particularly once his party wins control. Often stresses both his independence from the governor's agenda, and his influence with the administration toward protecting the region's interests.
BARBARA COLEMAN (D): Says Newman represents an "elite minority" and says that cuts by the Allen administration are damaging to state education. She's in support of spending more on education and increasing partnerships between schools and businesses.
STEVE NEWMAN (R): Says state Democrats are tax-and-spend liberals. A firm supporter of Gov. George Allen, he talks a lot about raising education standards, attracting new businesses to Virginia and putting more money into prisons and law enforcement.
MADISON MARYE (D): "Education, education, education." In case you miss his point, Marye says he wants to introduce an initiative next year to increase the numbers of computers in classrooms.
PAT CUPP (R): Creating good jobs, supporting higher and public education and providing "safe streets" by building more prisons.
JOHN EDWARDS (D): Says the three issues of the campaign are "education, education, education." Strongly opposes charter schools and school vouchers, both of which Edwards says would hurt school systems by diverting taxpayer money to what amount to private schools. Has criticized Gov. George Allen's attempts this year to cut $92 million from higher education and public schools from the state budget.
BRANDON BELL (R): Emphasizes his support for conservative, family values and his pro-business voting record. Supports legal reform to reduce the number of lawsuits filed in Virginia; favors cutting taxes; and wants the state to establish charter schools so teachers and parents can direct children's education, rather than bureaucrats in Richmond. Supports continued welfare reform and building more prisons for criminals.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB