THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300409
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Decision '96
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 93 lines
John F. Tate, the Republican challenger for the 2nd District Congressional seat, is the first to admit that he's not much of a public speaker.
Somewhat shy and restrained in appearances before an audience, Tate delivers his remarks in a kind of unsteady pace that brings to mind the public speaking of another Republican candidate, who happens to be a former senator from Kansas.
``I'm a little uncertain about the ego, about engaging it too much,'' Tate said. ``It's not something that comes naturally to me.''
But whatever fire Tate lacks at the podium, he more than makes up for it in the many tart-tongued mailings that have become the underpinning of his first-ever campaign for public office.
In one recent letter, Tate bemoaned the prospect of the Democrats retaining control of the White House and possibly retaking the House of Representatives, saying that while it may come true, the national media is missing the point of what it would mean:
``The fact is that Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank and that whole liberal crew have their wish list of social welfare boondoggles all made out. They know exactly how they want to spend our money.''
The appeal to those who fear the liberal senator from Massachusetts and one of Congress' more outspoken gay members is meant to rally the conservative faithful of Southeastern Virginia.
``They're rallying names,'' Tate said. ``You don't get the same impact if you say Dick Gephardt,'' the House minority leader from Missouri. ``Kennedy and Frank are known names. Lately, I've been using Ron Dellums (a California Democrat) and Pat Schroeder (a Colorado Democrat). Using Frank's name has nothing to do with his sexual proclivities. They're well-known leaders of the liberal movement.''
Tate said the literature should speak for itself.
``I have a problem attacking (Pickett) when he's not there to defend himself,'' Tate said. ``When I say attack, we just go after his record. We're sticking to the issue. But it's easier to be tough in writing than in speaking.''
Tate is a child of Northern Virginia, where his father, Fred Tate, worked for Amtrak until he was laid off in 1980. ``It was a good cut,'' the son said of the federally subsidized railroad's downsizing. Later, Fred Tate was appointed by President Reagan as the undersecretary for civil rights in the Department of Education.
It was there, Tate said, he saw firsthand how Washington spent tax money. The experience has soured him on much of government, save the military, which he supports to the point that he has laughingly called himself a ``Marine Corps wannabe.''
``I saw how we sent $1 to Washington and got back 30 cents,'' Tate said. ``I had a sister, Anne, who was diagnosed as learning disabled in the Prince William County School district. Our family argued strongly against this because we did not believe it was true.''
The family eventually got Tate's sister out of the program, but not, he said, until they learned the incentive the district had for declaring his sister disabled.
``For every student who was disabled, the district got $8,000 from the federal government. It was incredible. People forget that it's our money,'' he said, slipping into one of the Dole campaign's central themes. ``We are sending it to the government, and I've seen nothing like what I saw in the Department of Education.''
The department, he said, represents the kind of onerous federal government that appears in his campaign literature - ``nameless bureaucrats'' as he has called its workers.
``I'm an advocate of programs for the learning disabled. But in her case, I have long felt she was put there because they wanted the federal money.''
Tate would like the department to be abolished.
``Education is not a federal issue,'' he said.
By his own count, he has knocked on 23,000 doors in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, where he lives with his wife and three children. He has raised about $110,000, mostly from individual donors and many of them from out of state, according to his October filings with the Federal Election Commission. He predicted that by Election Day receipts will exceed $200,000.
Tate is the director of the National Right to Work Committee Telecommunications Center in Virginia Beach. The committee lobbies Congress on legislation affecting organized labor.
From the beginning, Tate has expected to garner about 40 percent of the vote - even if he did nothing and relied simply on the party loyalty of the district's Republican voters. To add fire to a campaign that has lacked a certain energy, Tate has repeatedly called Pickett a ``liberal,'' a tag that strikes some as misplaced because Pickett is known for his moderation.
``Anyone who votes for the partial-birth abortion as Owen Pickett did, is a liberal,'' he said. ``A radical, really.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Charlie Meads/The Virginian-Pilot
John F. Tate
KEYWORDS: PROFILE CANDIDATE U.S. CONGRESSIONAL RACE
ELECTION ISSUE by CNB