Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 9, 1995 TAG: 9511090061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Midway through the breakfast rush hour, the door to the Vinton McDonald's was flung open, and a man in a long black overcoat burst through and shouted out to no one in particular: "Anybody in here seen a dump truck?"
Richard Cranwell had arrived.
There's no missing it when the House majority leader sweeps into a room. The breakfast crowd, mostly retirees, mostly regulars, swarmed around him to offer congratulations on his re-election victory - over former George Allen campaign worker Trixie Averill, over the $200,000 that made her the best-funded House challenger in the state, even over the dump truck with the "Dump Dickie Cranwell" sign, which Republicans parked at conspicuous locations around his district.
The women lined up for hugs and kisses. "Hey, governor!" some of the men shouted out - a curious, but perhaps telling, greeting.
The way Democrats talked Wednesday, Cranwell may as well be governor.
The garrulous 53-year-old Vinton lawyer, who spent the morning after the election at a fast-food joint smearing homemade apple butter on his biscuit, emerged from Tuesday's election as by far the most influential legislator in the General Assembly - and, depending on whom you believe, perhaps the most important political leader in the state.
Gov. Allen did more than frame the election as a referendum on his administration: He also framed it as a choice between himself and Cranwell, "the chief obstructionist." Republican ads throughout the state not only targeted their Democratic opponents, they also blasted "liberal Democrat Dick Cranwell" - as if his were a household name. Cranwell, in turn, barnstormed the state on behalf of Democratic House candidates. "Cranwell was behind the strong education message," said former state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Goldman of Richmond.
Yet while Virginia voters shook up the Senate, installing seven new members, only two seats in the House - Cranwell's House - changed parties, with Democrats picking up one in Smyth County and losing one in Norfolk.
That alone enhances Cranwell's statewide stature, Goldman says. "He went toe-to-toe with the governor and beat him." Even some Republican legislators concede as much. "Cranwell's a big winner, no doubt about it," said Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. "He proved once again he's a masterful politician....He certainly has an edge on Allen. Without question, Allen is certainly wounded."
That's not all. Voters reorganized the General Assembly in a way that boosts Cranwell's influence even more.
Cranwell's counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews of Hampton, was ousted. Although both were Democrats, the two often clashed on budget matters - especially Cranwell's desire to increase funding for rural school systems. "The battle of wills between Dick and Hunter was titanic," Del. Tom Jackson, D-Hillsville, said. "With that gone, I don't think there's anyone else in the legislature who understands the big picture better, or the legislative process better, than Dick Cranwell."
Cranwell also will gain influence over the budget through the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee - Earl Dickenson of Louisa County. On key issues, Dickenson has been known to wait to see which way Cranwell is going before casting his vote.
"Dickie's power on the budget is substantially enhanced," said Del. Jay DeBoer, D-Petersburg.
Democratic legislators read Tuesday's vote as a repudiation of Allen's tax-cutting, budget-cutting agenda, and many say the General Assembly - not the governor - will set the state's priorities in the next two years. And they say that Cranwell will be the driving force behind figuring out what those legislative priorities will be.
"Cranwell has an opportunity to do what the governor couldn't do, which is to provide real leadership on some issues that require bipartisanship to enact," Goldman said. "If Cranwell does that, I think people will be talking about him for higher office. I think that's clear."
Republicans don't agree. GOP legislative strategist Scott Leake contends that while Cranwell's influence in the House may have been strengthened, the deadlock in the Senate means Senate Republicans will be able to block much of Cranwell's agenda. "It's a little presumptuous to crown him King Richard," he said. "There are 20 Republicans on the other side who think differently."
Nevertheless, Cranwell was already talking Wednesday about how the 1996 legislature will approve the education plan that Democrats promoted during the campaign - increasing funding for higher education by $200 million, adding $70 million to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, perhaps floating bonds to put a computer in every classroom.
"I think the budget bill we give to [the governor] will have it in there and he'll have a clear choice," Cranwell said. "To reach out and do what's right, or he'll have a dilemma." If Allen vetoes the additional funding, Cranwell says, Virginia's government will face "a serious stalemate."
With that in mind, Cranwell and other Democratic leaders went to Richmond Wednesday to say they were willing to work with the governor. "If George Allen is willing to lay down the in-your-face strident politics and really focus on governing, we can have a good two years," Cranwell said.
Some Democrats predicted the offer wouldn't last long. "What a joke," DeBoer said. "Dick's going to get his jollies between now and January whenever he can. And rightly so....The detente will last only until the governor's next insult, and the next time that happens, Cranwell's off again."
by CNB