Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511130050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
RICHARD CRANWELL: UP. First, the House majority leader stared down Gov. George Allen in the legislature, then he stared him down at the ballot box. That's the obvious part. What's not so obvious is how Cranwell now emerges as his party's leader, and not just in the legislature.
"He's a very central figure as we continue to put a face on who a Democrat is," says Del. Tom Jackson, D-Hillsville. "Ten years ago, when people thought about Democrats, they thought about people like A.L. Philpott. That changed to become Doug Wilder and Chuck Robb, during their feud, which was not a positive thing for the party. Now the Virginia Democratic Party is in part Dick Cranwell and in part Don Beyer. While Don Beyer may not be so vocal, Dick has assumed almost the role of the statewide spokesman of the party."
DON BEYER: UP. The cerebral Northern Virginia car dealer has been Virginia's version of the Invisible Man during his six years as lieutenant governor. Now, with a 20-20 deadlock in the state Senate, Beyer will be in the spotlight, casting the tie-breaking votes as the chamber's presiding officer. That can't help but raise his profile and sharpen his identity, all pluses as he prepares to run for governor in 1997.
Republicans will try to put him on the spot by forcing him to cast controversial tie-breakers. But the deadlock also gives Beyer an opportunity to exert leadership, and try his hand at forging bipartisan compromises - something he's long said he welcomes.
CANDIDATES FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: UP. The 1997 race for lieutenant governor won't be just an afterthought about who's got the best style in banging a gavel; it'll be a mano-a-mano battle for control of the state Senate. Beyer gives Democrats the tie-breaker for only the next two years; the 1997 winner will preside over the final two years of this Senate's term.
The Republican contest for lieutenant governor is already well-formed. McLean businessman T. Coleman Andrews III is a big winner among GOP faithful for raising, and distributing, $300,000 to Republican candidates this fall. He appears to have locked up the key conservative activists, unless home-school advocate and 1993 nominee Mike Farris decides he wants to run again.
Names mentioned on the Democratic side include former Secretary of Education Jim Dyke of Fairfax County, former Secretary of Health and Human Resources Eva Teig of Richmond, state Sen. Edd Houck of Spotsylvania County, state Sen. Richard Saslaw of Fairfax County, state Sen.-elect Emily Couric of Charlottesville and former state Sen. Granger Macfarlane of Roanoke. Look for even more names to pop up as the position's importance becomes clearer.
DEMOCRATIC MODERATES IN THE STATE SENATE: UP. The Democratic caucus in the state Senate takes a decided leftward turn, with the defeat of moderate-to-conservative figures such as Frank Nolen of Augusta County, Elmo Cross of Hanover County, Clancy Holland of Virginia Beach, Hunter Andrews of Hampton - and the addition of John Edwards of Roanoke, Patsy Ticer of Alexandria, Emily Couric of Charlottesville and Mary Margaret Whipple of Arlington.
Ironically, that means the handful of Democratic moderates who remain will constitute the key bloc in a deadlocked Senate - the Richmond equivalent of the "Boll Weevil" Democrats in Congress. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount has gotten the most attention. But Jack Reasor of Bluefield, Richard Holland of Isle of Wight County, Charles Colgan of Manassas also become swing votes who will be courted heavily.
MALFOURD "BO" TRUMBO: UP. The Republican state senator from Fincastle fancies himself a rule-meister, the kind of legislator who can bring things to a halt - or speed them up - with his knowledge of arcane points of parliamentary procedure. With a deadlocked Senate, look for Trumbo and his dog-eared copy of Robert's Rules of Order to be at the center of the action. Furthermore, as a Republican moderate, he's in a position to join with Democratic moderates to set the chamber's direction.
JOHN T. "TIL" HAZEL: UP. The Northern Virginia megadeveloper and GOP fund-raiser split Republicans this fall by organizing the state's business community behind a call for increased spending for higher education. That challenged a key tenet of the budget-cutting Allen administration. Now, 70 percent of the legislators who convene in Richmond in January are on record supporting more funding - and Allen will be forced to deal with the business community's demand. If he doesn't, he risks alienating a key Republican constituency.
JIM GILMORE: NO CHANGE. The Republican attorney general managed to steer clear of last winter's clash between Allen and the Democratic legislature while building his own record of putting together bipartisan coalitions on crime-fighting initiatives. Next up on the legislature's agenda is revamping the juvenile court system, an issue that will put Gilmore at center stage - not a bad place to be as he, too, prepares to run for governor in 1997.
Much depends, though, on how Allen and the legislature get along. If they cooperate, Gilmore might benefit from the good vibes. And if they don't? There are two scenarios: One holds that the clash will sharpen the philosophical choices even more, which conservatives believe eventually would help Republicans. The other holds that continued partisan bickering would help the more nonconfrontational Beyer in '97.
One thing is certain: If Allen bucks the push for more funding for higher education, the fallout undoubtedly would hurt Gilmore in the business community.
ONZLEE WARE: UP. The Roanoke lawyer and 6th District Democratic Chairman is hailed as the point man in organizing the huge turnout of black voters, which was the key to John Edwards' upset win for the state Senate. Ware emerges as not just the valley's most prominent black leader, but one of its most important political leaders, period. Some Democrats even mention him as a possible intraparty rival to Mayor David Bowers, who faces re-election in May.
BOB GOODLATTE: DOWN. Roanoke's Republican congressman invested a lot of time recruiting candidates, raising money for them and campaigning for them. That earned him popularity points among GOP activists around the state. And Goodlatte's former aide, Steve Landes, managed to win a House seat in Augusta County.
However, all four contested GOP candidates in the Roanoke Valley - the 6th District's population base - lost, and most of those were closely identified with Goodlatte, especially state Sen. Brandon Bell. Democrats think Goodlatte might be vulnerable next year, especially if GOP efforts to overhaul Medicare - a flash point for senior citizens - stays an issue. Some Democrats are pushing for Roanoke lawyer John Fishwick Jr., who narrowly lost his party's 1992 nomination, to take on Goodlatte.
THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT: DOWN. Social conservatives took a beating in their most prominent school board races. Christian Coalition leader Jack LeDoux and his son-in-law, Bob Anderson, were defeated in their bids in Montgomery County; Amanda Davis was beaten badly in Franklin County. So was Vern Jordahl in Roanoke County. But the marquee races came in Fairfax County, where a slate of Republican-backed social conservatives prompted a voter backlash that swept Democratic-endorsed candidates into office in what were supposed to be non-partisan elections.
JOHN WARNER: NO CHANGE. On one level, the election results suggest that Virginians aren't prepared to endorse a strictly conservative agenda, which ought to validate U.S. Sen. Warner's approach. However, a Mason-Dixon Poll the week before the election confirmed that many Republican activists hold a deep grudge against Warner for failing to back party nominees Oliver North in 1994 and Mike Farris in 1993. He's still in danger of not being renominated next year.
EDWARD and PETER VIA: DOWN. The late Roanoke philanthropist Marion Via lavished her contributions on community causes such as the symphony and the horse show, earning her widespread affection. Her two sons appear more inclined to politics, an inherently more controversial field. The heirs to the Via fortune contributed more than $210,000 to the Republican cause this fall - $80,250 to Newell Falkinburg, $80,000 to Trixie Averill and $50,000 more to Allen's political action committee. In return, the Vias were attacked by name in Democratic mailings, and their candidates lost - badly, in Falkinburg's case. Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, his opponent, quipped on election night: "That's a lot of money for three precincts."
Staff writer Dan Casey contributed to this report.
by CNB