ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602040009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
Rep. L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County, will announce Monday if he'll run for re-election. Democratic leaders believe he is going to retire from Congress and may run for lieutenant governor in 1997.
Payne has scheduled a morning news conference at Danville's Municipal Building at 10:30, and one at 2:30 p.m. at the Albemarle County Office Building in Charlottesville, said Paul Reagan, a member of the congressman's staff.
"He's going to address what everybody's been speculating about," Reagan said.
The Democratic Party chairman in Payne's 5th District, Carl Eggleston, said he will not be surprised if Payne retires and runs for lieutenant governor.
Onzlee Ware, the party's chairman in the 6th District, which includes Roanoke, said he has talked to several 5th District Democrats "who are giving me the impression that Payne is strongly considering" running for lieutenant governor.
Political analyst Larry Sabato, a professor at the University of Virginia, said he won't be surprised if Payne has decided to leave Congress.
"What is not widely known is that he almost retired two years ago," Sabato said. "Although it's an unusual decision for someone who has been gaining influence and is a player in the 'Blue Dogs.'''
The Blue Dogs are conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives who have emerged as key players with the Republican takeover of Congress.
Sabato said that if Payne runs for lieutenant governor, it would clearly be a move to put himself in line for the governorship.
"He is a man clearly not enchanted with Congress," Sabato said. "He is a businessman who is used to making decisions and running things. That's why he's so attracted to the governorship."
Payne, 50, owns the Wintergreen ski resort in Nelson County. He was first elected to Congress in a special election in 1988 after the death of Democratic Rep. Dan Daniel.
Speculation about Payne's political future has snowballed in the past few weeks.
While Payne has taken time to consider his future each time he's been up for re-election, the scuttlebutt among political insiders this time around has been widespread in the 5th District, which stretches from Charlottesville to Martinsville and includes Bedford, Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties.
Possible Democratic candidates if Payne does retire include state Sen. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount and Del. Ward Armstrong of Henry County.
On the Republican side, Albemarle County lawyer George Landrith, who lost to Payne two years ago, is seeking his party's nomination again.
Landrith said it doesn't matter to him whom he runs against.
State Sen. Charles Hawkins of Chatham also has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate.
Staff writer Dwayne Yancey and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Payne. KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB