THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410180527
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
Most challengers in political races have to fight tooth and nail to gain name recognition.
Not Walter Jones Jr.
As he strides into the lobby of the Greenville Ramada Inn, Jones is in full campaign overdrive. The son and namesake of one of North Carolina's most famous public servants, Jones has grown up in and around politics and government. He knows the campaign drill.
``Hi, I'm Walter Jones Jr. and I'm running for Congress,'' he says, right hand extended. He shakes every available hand, and as he speaks he looks directly into the eyes of the would-be voter. The name is instantly recognizable.
Jones' father, the late Walter Jones Sr., served in Congress for 26 years. His son treasures the legacy, but he is intent on carving out his own niche. This is not, he says, a referendum on who will inherit his father's political power.
``I'm proud of my father, as anybody would be,'' he said. ``But I very rarely talk about him in speeches or at campaign functions, unless someone comes to me and says something nice about him. That happens a great deal. But I want to make my own way.''
Jones has made his own way, leaving the Democratic Party to run as a Republican in the 3rd District against incumbent Martin Lancaster.
``I talked with my father about it, and he was very supportive,'' Jones said. ``He understood that the Democratic Party as it is now had become too liberal for me. He urged me to do what I thought was right.''
Jones hopes to win the support of conservative Democrats in the 3rd District, the same Democrats who vote the party line in county and municipal elections, but who helped elect Republicans Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth to the U.S. Senate. On the stump, Jones calls the 1994 congressional election pivotal to the future of the country.
``Unless we do something in the next two elections to turn this country around,'' he said, ``we're going to be in serious trouble. The future of the country is going to be at stake.''
Jones said that, as he campaigns across the district, he hears the same message from voters.
``I was going door to door in New Bern the other day. People feel that the Congress is out of touch. They feel that unless this country returns to the values of our forefathers, this country won't survive.
``People are frustrated because of the lack of leadership shown by the Congress and the Clinton administration.
``The Democratic Party and my opponent have forgotten their roots,'' he said. ``And when you do that, you're in trouble.''
Jones' contention is shared by a number of national publications. On May 21, 1994, The New York Times called North Carolina's 3rd District one of the ``most vulnerable'' for incumbent Democrats in the South.
National Republicans also see the 3rd District battle as a key to eroding Democratic strength in the House. As a result, the GOP has dispatched its biggest guns - Jack Kemp, Newt Gingrich, Bill Bennett, Bob Dole and others - to campaign on Jones' behalf.
Those heavy hitters, Jones said, have paid big dividends for the campaign, particularly in building momentum. Jones has maintained throughout the race that he is at least dead-even with Lancaster.
``The race is ours to lose,'' Jones said.
Across the district, Jones hits on conservative themes and in recent weeks has embraced the national GOP's ``Contract With America,'' a list of commitments that the Republican Party will enact within the first 100 days if it becomes the majority party in the House. It's highlights include welfare reform, strengthening national defense and term limits.
``Nothing like this has ever been done in the history of this country,'' he said. ``This is a covenant with the American people that represents meaningful change.''
Jones has come under fire from the Lancaster campaign, which charged that Jones missed one-third of the votes cast during the 1992 session of the North Carolina General Assembly. Jones served in the General Assembly from 1982 to 1992. Jones calls such claims ``exaggeration.''
``My 10 years I served the people of North Carolina (in the General Assembly) I'd put up against anyone. We accomplished a lot of good things for the people, particularly in opening state government. Now the people have access to how much lobbyists are being paid to win and dine and influence. Those are the kind of issues I worked on.''
Jones has also been criticized for living outside the district he hopes to represent.
``District lines are just lines on paper,'' he said. ``I was born in Pitt County (within the district). I lived all my life in Pitt County. I'll be buried in Pitt County. I pay taxes here. People are looking for someone who will listen to their problems, and the incumbent has not done that.''
Jones said he is not bothered by the criticisms.
``Except for when the press calls, we're not even responding to the incumbent, because we're listening to the people. And they want to hear our ideas and what we've got to say about getting this country moving again. That's what the (Contract With America) does.
``What people want to hear about are the issues, such as crime, such as welfare reform,'' he said. ``Working people are tired of excessive taxation. They're tired and scared of government that just keeps growing and growing. They're concerned about the future of this country. We think we offer a solution to those problems. If you walk the streets and talk to working people, you would see how frustrated they are.''
Jones says voters will take out that frustration at the polls against incumbents, and he hopes to be the beneficiary of those votes in the 3rd District.
``You're going to see one of the biggest changes this year in Congress you've ever seen.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Walter Jones Jr., center, campaigns at a Republican fish fry in
Wanchese on Saturday. Jones says voters are frustrated with Congress
and will vote out incumbents in November.
Graphic
WALTER B. JONES JR.
Age: 51
Home: Farmville
Education: Pitt County Public Schools, Hargrave Military Academy,
North Carolina State University and Atlantic Christian College B.A.
Profession: Business Owner
Political Experience: North Carolina House of Representatives,
1982 to 1992.
Served as chairman of subcommittee on children, youth and
families. Redistricted out of House seat in 1992.
Lost in race for Congress against Eva Clayton in 1992.
Family: Wife, Jo Anne; daughter, Ashley.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION NORTH CAROLINA CANDIDATES by CNB