THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510290142
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 277 lines
Ten thousand feet above the ground, with the jet engines humming, his legs sprawled on an empty seat facing him and a pinch of tobacco inside his lip, Gov. George F. Allen appears relaxed. There isn't a television camera in sight.
He finishes a story about kissing a pig at a charity fund-raiser a few years back.
``It was squealing, but less than the Democrats do,'' Allen laughed.
Allen, Virginia's first Republican governor in 12 years, has spent the day flying around the state, denouncing Democratic candidates for the General Assembly as ``oligarchists'' who are ``out of ideas and cling to their failed policies of the past in a desperate attempt to hold onto power.''
Does the governor not concede a single positive contribution during the last century of Democratic control of the Assembly?
``If you give me some time, I'll come up with something,'' Allen replies.
What about Virginia's ranking as the second-lowest taxing and spending state in the nation?
``I suppose that could be one, but we could even be better.''
Is there nothing, then?
``I don't want to be an absolutist. I think some of the things (former Gov.) Doug Wilder did to rein in spending were good. And the General Assembly has had enough sense to be helpful in major business deals. But that's not enough. Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then.''
George Felix Allen is giving no quarter to Democrats this fall. At 43, he teeters on the brink of putting an imprint on state government that will last well into the 21st century or becoming perhaps just another ambitious governor who overestimated his mandate.
It all comes down to the Nov. 7 legislative races and whether Republicans can gain three seats in the House of Delegates and three in the Senate to seize an unprecedented majority in the General Assembly.
``He's walking a tightrope without a net,'' says Thomas R. Morris, a political scientist and president of Emory & Henry College. ``He's going for it all. He's putting the success or failure of his administration on the line.''
Allen has raised $899,300 for Republican candidates this fall - an unprecedented sum for a Virginia governor during legislative races. He spends evenings and weekends jetting around the state, imploring voters to back Republicans, and accusing Democrats of being wasteful, weak on crime and resistant to his agenda for ``honest change.''
If Republicans win, Allen dreams about a ``renaissance'' of government and ideas not seen in Virginia since the days of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. ``It will be a rebirth in Virginia of opportunity and leadership and glory,'' he says. ``Virginia led the renaissance of the nation, and it's our time to lead again.''
And if the GOP loses? ``I can continue to recruit businesses and be successful,'' Allen says. ``But to carry out the pledges I've made to the people, I simply need to have a Republican majority.''
Hyperbole aside, a tremendous amount is at stake. It all comes down to whether Virginians want a conservative or moderate state government. The renaissance Allen speaks of is largely an embracing of classic Republican ideology.
In practical terms, that means tax cuts and deep reductions in social programs. It means tough, back-to-basic standards in schools as a prerequisite to spending more money on education. It means deregulating businesses, building prisons, requiring parental consent for teenage abortions and starting a test program that would offer public support to private schools.
At issue is whether Virginians really desire change. A poll this summer showed that two of three citizens credited state government with doing a good job and more than half said that Virginia taxes are fair.
Meanwhile, public opinion polls show that Allen remains personally popular with Virginia voters. More than 50 percent of them credit him with doing a good or excellent job as governor, even though many may question individual policies.
Democrats are trying to separate Allen's personal popularity from his agenda, telling voters in a statewide commercial that the governor isn't the issue, that education is. The commercial cites his proposal last winter to cut $92 million from public education and colleges.
But most voters refuse to characterize the elections as a referendum on the governor. They seem more concerned with the qualifications and reputations of their local candidates. Two of three citizens said Allen's endorsement of a candidate would not affect their decisions at the polls.
Many Democrats say this summer's poll proves that Allen's constant characterization of the General Assembly as wasteful doesn't ring true with voters.
``Contrary to the governor's claims, the lights are not going out in Virginia,'' says House Majority Leader C. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County. ``If we continue doing business in Virginia just the way we've been doing it for the last 50 years, things will be fine.''
To bolster his case for change, Allen has swerved off target a time or two when criticizing the Democrats' record. For example:
The governor has said that the state budget has grown by 300 percent over the past 15 years.
Fact: The budget has grown by 182 percent over that time - from $5.7 billion to an estimated $16.1 billion this year. When adjusted for inflation, the actual increase is 57 percent. That doesn't take into account that the state's population rose 25 percent during the period, driving up tax collections and demands for services.
In speeches and TV commercials, Allen claims Democrats opposed his efforts to impose tougher prison sentences of violent criminals.
Fact: Democrats supported the abolition of parole. They disagreed with Allen about financing new prisons and authorized less than one-fourth of the $409 million in borrowing authority the governor sought for prisons last year, arguing that most of the structures are still in early planning stages. Democrats said they would authorize the borrowing when the state is ready to begin more construction.
Allen argues that lottery profits should be returned to localities because that promise was made to voters when they approved the game in 1987.
Fact: There is no record of such a pledge, though Allen says it was ``implicit.''
Allen acknowledges that he can get carried away in campaign speeches. ``I lead the Republican argument. No one is in as strong a position to make the case as me.''
Many Democratic leaders say Allen's tough rhetoric has made bipartisan cooperation all but impossible. ``I've worked with some fine Republican governors before - Linwood Holton, Mills Godwin, Johnny Dalton,'' says House Speaker Thomas J. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk. ``Each one of them, when they got to be governor, thought they reached the apex of their career and reached out across the aisle for cooperation. But this guy (Allen) just seems totally politically motivated.''
Unlike Allen, the GOP governors of the 1970s had little choice but to cooperate with Democrats. Back then, Republicans occupied only about a quarter of the seats in the General Assembly and made little effort to buck the majority.
Many Democratic leaders who defeated Allen's agenda during last winter's legislative session see the governor as a walking contradiction. For all of Allen's tributes to Virginia's revolutionary history, they say the governor shows little appreciation for the 20th century tradition of frugality in state government.
In addition to Virginia's low ranking on overall taxing and spending, Democrats point out that the Old Dominion has been cited twice in the past four years as the best-run state in the nation by Financial World magazine. They note that Virginia is one of only two states that did not raise taxes during the recent recession. And they warn that any attempt to cut revenues now will come at the expense of education.
``He's a nice young man, but he's got a lot to learn,'' says Speaker Moss. ``His statements about Virginia being a high-tax state are just flat untrue. That's one reason why I question his maturity and his understanding of government.''
In background, appearance and personality, the youthful Allen cuts a starkly different figure from the gray-haired portraits of other 20th century governors that hang in the state Capitol. He is a native of Southern California, the son of a legendary football coach and the youngest chief executive in Virginia since 1926.
He has a guileless way of connecting with people in conversation and making them feel important and remembered. He loves fast food, continuously gobbles mints and candies to hide the tobacco on his breath, and has been known to gun his red Ford Explorer in hopes of ditching his bodyguards.
A little more than two years ago, few thought that Allen would have an opportunity to revolutionize Virginia politics. He was an out-of-work politician at the time, having lost a congressional seat he held for one year when General Assembly Democrats merged his district with that of a senior Republican - Rep. Thomas J. Bliley of Richmond.
When Allen began his campaign for governor, he was dubbed ``Boy George'' by fellow Republicans and was trailing Democratic nominee Mary Sue Terry by 33 percentage points in polls.
``It's always good to have people underestimate you,'' says Allen, who went on to win in a landslide.
No one in state politics overlooks Allen anymore. Beneath his amiable style, Allen is widely acknowledged as an aggressive and disciplined competitor - a trait he credits to his father, George H. Allen, a former coach of the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins.
It's hard to know all the factors that drive him because Allen almost never reveals his thoughts nor departs from his campaign pitch. At his political core, the governor is an unwavering conservative ideologue in the mode of Ronald Reagan, a longtime family friend.
Allen distrusts central government. He believes the best prescription for economic growth is keeping money in the pockets of those who have earned it. He argues that people must be responsible for their own welfare. The role of state government, he says, should be limited to transportation, education, public safety and private business recruitment.
``George never compromises on philosophy,'' says state Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, a close adviser to the governor. ``Nobody can say to me that he doesn't fully believe in what he's doing.''
For example, Allen has refused to apply for about $7 million in school funding available from the federal government under the Goals 2000 program. Although 48 other states have signed up for the money, Allen says he's skeptical of federal assurances that the money would come without strings attached.
``It's a matter of principle,'' says Allen, who constantly rails about Washington's encroachment on states' rights. ``I don't want new national standards imposed on our schools.''
Similarly, Allen resisted a federal mandate allowing citizens to register to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state agencies. He relented last month after a federal court threw out his challenge to the law.
Allen says his fight with Democrats is all about keeping campaign promises he made in 1993. With bipartisan support in the Assembly, he has succeeded in keeping two major pledges - the abolition of parole and enactment of tough welfare reform that requires recipients to find jobs in two years or lose benefits.
But his signature proposal to trim state income taxes is something he never discussed during the campaign and is cited by Democrats as proof that Allen has overestimated his mandate from voters.
Last winter, Democrats soundly rejected Allen's proposal to reduce state income taxes by $150 million - which would have resulted in a $33 annual savings for a family of four with a total income of $70,000.
Democrats argued that the price of the tax cut was too severe. To pay for his plan, Allen proposed cutting public schools and colleges, dropout prevention and mental health programs, Meals on Wheels and local aid for police.
Allen promises to try to cut taxes again next year. He suggests he'll offer a different set of spending reductions.
Allen argues that lowering taxes is mandatory if Virginia is to compete with neighboring states in recruiting industry. ``Both Maryland and North Carolina are lowering taxes because they want to become more competitive and take jobs away from Virginia.''
Democratic leaders argue that Virginia already has a lower overall tax burden than its neighboring states. The most critical factors in attracting businesses, they say, are the public schools and colleges whose budgets Allen wanted to reduce last winter. ``Now is the time to invest in education,'' says Cranwell .
Stung by criticism that he is unfriendly to schools, Allen this fall is acknowledging that more money is needed for public education. But he insists those dollars must be accompanied by back-to-basics reform in teaching, better classroom discipline and standardized testing.
Allen also is looking to the private sector for improvement in education. He endorses a charter school program, which would allow private groups approved by education boards to run schools with public funding. ``The idea has worked in other states,'' Allen says. ``Virginia should not be afraid to try it.''
Contrary to the assertion of many Democrats, Allen says charter schools are not the first step in an ultimate plan to offer vouchers to parents who send their children to private schools.
``I think vouchers are a way off,'' he says. ``The only way I would see it is if a city or a county came forward and asked for permission to run a pilot program. It would have to come from the grassroots up.''
While Republican candidates in most areas of the state have broadly endorsed Allen's plans, most are also leaving themselves an opening to dissent from the governor's views. Asked to explain that thinking, Republican candidates are offering a stock line: ``I don't even agree with my spouse 100 percent of the time.''
The challenge for Allen is to make a case for change and experimentation in state government to an electorate that seems generally pleased with Virginia's direction - and a bit apathetic. According to this summer's poll, only one Virginian in four knows that Democrats control both houses of the General Assembly.
While he insists the Republican agenda is based on principle, not politics, he refuses to give the Democrats the same credit. ``The Democrats have tried to obstruct every change we've proposed,'' he says. ``They offer no new ideas. They sit smug and satiated with stultifying mediocrity.''
Many Democrats say politics is the very essence of Allen's agenda and accuse him of angling for a national political presence, even a vice presidency. Allen says his only political interest at the moment is serving until his term ends in 1997. ``The future will take care of itself,'' he says.
At times, the fight with Democrats appears personal and visceral to Allen. In his inaugural address, he labeled the Democrats as ``monarchical elitists.'' In a 1994 speech at the state Republican Convention, he invited 13,000 GOP loyalists to help him kick Democrats' ``soft teeth down their whiny throats.''
Stolle admits the governor's rhetoric at times can be overblown. ``Allen is not going to accomplish his goals by talking about Democratic accomplishments of the past,'' he says. ``And just because the Democrats have done what I consider to be a good job in the past doesn't mean they have the right ideas for the future.
``I don't think George really intends to reinvent government,'' Stolle says. ``I think he's trying to improve it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into GOP candidates'
campaign funds, Allen hopes to gain the three House seats and three
Senate seats his party needs to control the Assembly.
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Widely acknowledged as an aggressive competitor, Allen is no longer
tagged ``Boy George.'' About his unexpected landslide victory in
1993: ``It's always good to have people underestimate you.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY ELECTION VIRGINIA
GOVERNOR by CNB