Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 6, 1995 TAG: 9511060036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A glossy brochure Copeland recently sent to voters in his district features a large picture of the delegate looking on as Allen signs a bill. At the bottom of the photo is an inscription from Allen that reads: "Howard - I enjoyed working with you on this."
If you look closely, the walls to the governor's office seem bare. In fact, a door and window are missing. And if you study the photo really hard, you may notice the table on which Allen is working reflects the presence of other people who are not seen in the photo.
That's because Copeland had a graphic artist remove two Republicans who surrounded him at the bill signing from the photo. Copeland acknowledged that Del. Robert Marshall, R-Manassas, was airbrushed from the picture and Del. Robert McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach, was cropped out.
Allen's office, which released a copy of the original photo Thursday, was not amused by Copeland's artistic license. "It's misleading for him to imply that he's positioned himself as an ally," said Ken Stroupe, the governor's press secretary. "Howard Copeland hasn't supported the governor when his help was really needed."
Stroupe added that Copeland has not met privately with Allen in the almost two years he has been governor.
Copeland said a graphics designer recommended that the two Republicans be removed from the photo. He denied that his brochure creates a misleading impression of closeness with Allen.
"The only thing that is relevant is that I am at a signing ceremony with Governor Allen, and he thanked me for my support," Copeland said. "The rest is irrelevant."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB