ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611040071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
Admittedly tired and lagging in the polls, Mark Warner was looking for some friends. And he had come to the right place.
He won't get the vote of the guy who stood next to him at Friday night's debate before the state NAACP convention - opponent John Warner. But he seemed to have almost every other vote in the Holiday Inn Executive Center. At the final debate of the election, the crowd murmured in support at many of his answers.
"He says it right," said Sandra Carter, watching from the third row. "I feel like he's talking to me."
Still, many NAACP members appreciated the fact that John Warner showed up. Other Republicans - notably presidential candidate Bob Dole and Virginia Gov. George Allen - have turned down similar invitations.
"I think he should get some credit," said Shirley Baker of Williamsburg.
Walter Potts, a Department of Corrections counselor from South Boston, predicted that John Warner will win a noticeable chunk of black votes Tuesday because he is not a threatening, polarizing candidate like Iran-Contra figure Oliver North was two years ago.
"It's unfortunate for the Mark Warner campaign that he's not," Potts said.
The two Warners have faced each others in debates several times before, but from NAACP members came some questions that the two men had rarely, if ever, fielded in public debate.
"We spend $5,000 a year to educate a child and $30,000 a year to house a criminal. What are we going to do to help the children?" asked one man in the audience.
The answers were often similar, both men promising a commitment to education and equality for all Virginians. But even when they gave the same answers, Mark Warner got most of the applause.
They heard questions about drug use and affirmative action. Both promised to fight the first and support the latter when appropriate. They were asked about allegations that the CIA funneled drugs to the streets of Los Angeles, and both called for a swift and thorough investigation.
One woman asked how the candidates could help parents discipline their children without fear of battery or abuse charges. The Warners said it's a problem, but one the states, not the federal government, will have to resolve.
A poll conducted at the end of October for The Roanoke Times' sister newspaper in Norfolk, The Virginian-Pilot, showed John Warner with large leads in every region of Virginia but trailing 78-15 percent among black voters.
Mark Warner spent much of Friday with predominantly black audiences in Danville and Martinsville and said he is counting on a large turnout among blacks to boost his chances on Election Day. During the breakfast benediction in Danville, the Rev. H.G. McGhee seemed to concur.
"We ask for the inspiration to help others go to the polls," McGhee said.
Friday's debate, televised live around the state, began with some unexpected fireworks. NAACP officials refused a request from John Warner's campaign to have Hampton University President Bill Harvey introduce the senator on camera. Then, with cameras rolling, NAACP President Paul Gillis accused a black John Warner volunteer of using "the N-word" in protest.
John Warner, who said he knew nothing of the incident, invited the volunteer to the microphone to defend himself. The volunteer later admitted using the word, but only after it had been uttered by an NAACP official. John Warner, calling the word unacceptable in any circumstances, severed all ties with the volunteer.
Staff writer David M. Poole contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB