THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995 TAG: 9506250095
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Suzie Wrenn, chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Party for the past two years, was chosen Saturday to lead the state party as it fights to maintain its slim majority in the General Assembly.
The Virginia Democratic Central Committee selected Wrenn to succeed Mark Warner as state party chairman. Warner has expressed an interest in running against Republican Sen. John Warner in 1996. The Warners are not related.
``We're ready to win this November, and that's what I see as my mission,'' Wrenn said in an interview.
She said she is not worried about Republican gains in the past two legislative elections, when the Democratic majorities were narrowed to 22-18 in the Senate and 52-47, with one independent, in the House of Delegates.
``Tides change in politics,'' she said.
``You have to run each race independently. Each candidate will be judged by the voters, and we have superior people running.''
She said Mark Warner left the party well-positioned for a strong run in November.
``I have a very good foundation,'' she said. ``I think we are more in touch with the voters of Virginia. I think we proved that last November,'' when the Republican rise to power in Congress largely bypassed Virginia.
Wrenn, 54, of Great Falls, has been active in Democratic politics for more than three decades. During her term as Fairfax County chairman, two Democrats won special elections to the Board of Supervisors to turn a 7-3 Republican majority into a 5-5 split.
``What I like best about her is she keeps winning elections,'' said Democratic Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr., who asked Wrenn to seek the state chairmanship.
``Ultimately what the Democratic Party has to be about is successful candidates. Everything she's touched in Fairfax County has turned to gold.''
KEYWORDS: DEMOCRATIC PARTY VIRGINIA by CNB