THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510210311
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Campaign '95
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, Channel 13, taping of On the Record With Joel Rubin:
Clarence A. ``Clancy'' Holland and Ed Schrock faced off Friday in the first unstructured meeting of their campaign for the 7th Senate District. And it wasn't pretty.
Schrock, the Republican challenger, accused Holland of trying to raise the cost of welfare in Virginia. Holland, the Democratic incumbent, used sharp words to scold Schrock for misrepresenting his record.
During the last legislative session, Holland helped forge a compromise between the Democratic-proposed welfare reform bill and the Republican one that eventually passed both houses of the General Assembly in February.
The Democratic proposal would have increased welfare costs by providing more counseling, day care and transportation assistance for welfare recipients. The Republican plan, by Gov. George F. Allen, provided less money for those services. Both plans required the welfare recipient to work, included cutoff dates for benefits and discouraged dependence on the system.
The two candidates also sparred over how school districts should be allowed to raise funds.
Schrock accused Holland of wanting to increase local taxes by giving the school board the power to tax citizens directly. Now, the City Council sets the tax rate and hands the money over to the district to spend.
Holland, a former City Council member and Virginia Beach mayor, disagreed with the decision to elect school board members instead of having the council appoint them. Now that the board is directly elected, however, Holland thinks it should be given taxing authority.
That way, he said, school boards will have to be directly responsible for the money they spend. Schrock said taxes will go up if school boards get taxing authority.
Their sparring match will be aired on Channel 13 on Sunday beginning at 11:30 a.m.
- Staff writer Karen Weintraub
8.30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, West Ghent candidate forum, St. Andrews Episcopal Church:
What was the candidate's general attitude toward the gay community?
That was the question asked of Jay Sherrill, candidate for the 88th House District against Del. Tom Moss, at the candidates forum held by the West Ghent Civic League on Tuesday night.
Sherrill, a Republican running against Democrat Moss, said he would treat every constitutent as an individual and always listen to everyone's concerns.
The questioner, a young man who sat in one of the folding chairs inside the auditorium of St. Andrews church, wasn't satisfied. The gay community in Ghent is large, and the man said he felt relatively safe there. But in the wider community, homosexuals could be discriminated against.
Should the gay community consider Sherrill a friend or enemy, the young man asked?
Sherrill frowned. He said he didn't think it was appropriate to label himself as either.
Next question.
- Staff writer Alex Marshall
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE by CNB