ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
Rep. L.F. Payne announced Monday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor after he retires from Congress next year.
Payne, 51, called himself a pragmatic problem-solver, willing to broaden his outlook beyond the rural concerns of Southside Virginia.
"I have represented the people of the 5th District the best I can," he said. "I am not an ideologue."
Many Democratic operatives consider Payne their best chance to hold onto the lieutenant governorship, a once-ceremonial post that has become a crucial tie-breaking vote in the partisan-deadlocked Virginia State Senate.
So far, the only other Democrat weighing a bid for the nomination is Northern Virginia lawyer Jim Dyke, who served as state Secretary of Education under former Gov. Douglas Wilder. Payne's bid for lieutenant governor had been widely speculated ever since he announced his retirement from Congress this year.
Republicans seeking their party's nomination include Coleman Andrews, an air freight executive from Northern Virginia; John Hager, a retired tobacco executive from Richmond; and Del. Jay Katzen of Warrenton.
Payne may have a difficult time selling his pro-guns, pro-tobacco voting record to more liberal Democrats in the state's urban centers.
Also, his opposition to the Lake Gaston pipeline probably won't resonate in Virginia Beach, which would benefit from drinking water withdrawn from the Roanoke River basin.
"I don't agree with him on every issue," said Senate Democratic Leader Richard Saslaw of Fairfax County. "But he has an enormous amount of leadership ability."
A native of Amherst County, Payne graduated from Virginia Military Institute and served as a U.S. Army company commander in Korea. He went into business, developing the Wintergreen Resort, a mountaintop ski and golf community in Nelson County.
He was elected to Congress in 1988, vowing to serve no more than 10 years.
Payne acknowledged the lieutenant governor's office often has been a steppingstone to the Executive Mansion. "Sure, maybe everyone here would like to be governor," he said at a Richmond news conference.
Democratic state Sen. Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount and Republican George Landrith of Albemarle County are seeking the congressional seat Payne is vacating.
LINING UP FOR 1997
The 1996 elections haven't even come yet, but Virginia Democrats and Republicans who want to run for statewide office next year already are putting their campaigns together. Here's who is exploring bids for each office:
DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS
FOR GOVERNOR
Lt. Gov. Don Beyer Attorney General Jim Gilmore
FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Rep. L.F. Payne Northern Virginia businessman Coleman Andrews
Former Secretary of Education
Jim Dyke Retired Richmond businessman John Hagar
Del. Jay Katzen of Fauquier County
FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
Arlington lawyer Bill Dolan State Sen. Ken Stolle of Virginia Beach
Falls Church lawyer
Thurgood Marshall Jr. State Sen. Mark Earley of Chesapeake
Secretary of Public Safety
Jerry Kilgore
Northern Virginia lawyer Gil Davis
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Payne. KEYWORDS: POLITICS STATEby CNB