Richmond Times-Dispatch 09/21/2008
In Richmond, Wilder Supporters Back Grey
By Will Jones - Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder only hints at his preference for mayor, but his former supporters are speaking volumes with their checkbooks.
Corporate leaders and others who bankrolled Wilder's campaign to lead City Hall in 2004 are overwhelmingly behind Robert J. Grey Jr. in this year's race, according to an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of political giving in the state.
Grey, an attorney with Hunton & Williams, has received $106,848 in campaign donations from people who contributed to Wilder four years ago.
That compares with $12,669 given to William J. Pantele, $10,532 to Dwight Clinton Jones and $3,000 to Paul Goldman. Lawrence E. Williams Sr. has received no contributions from Wilder supporters.
"I think the connection is pretty obvious. Grey is Wilder's candidate," said Craig Bieber, campaign manager for Pantele, the Richmond City Council president.
"From everything we're hearing, Wilder is doing everything he can to elect Robert Grey the next mayor, and this is just further evidence of that."
Lisa Fulton, Grey's campaign manager, suggested the connection has less to do with Wilder and more to do with what corporate leaders believe Richmond needs.
"The business community and people who have an interest in the city doing well and having a good reputation are looking for a leader who can produce results and reform, and eliminate the waste and stop the bickering that has held Richmond back," she said.
In a brief interview at City Hall, Wilder indicated he's in no rush to endorse a potential successor and explained his former supporters flocking to Grey this way:
"I think people like the direction of the city, and they might see him as a continuation of that."
A former governor of Virginia, Wilder waltzed into City Hall in 2005, after easily winning a four-way race to be Richmond's first elected mayor under its new form of government. Later that year, Wilder tapped Grey to lead an effort to scale back plans for a downtown arts center.
Grey jumped into this year's mayoral race only after Wilder announced he would not seek a second term. Since then, Wilder has said little of Grey and taken swipes at Pantele and Jones, who are widely viewed as Grey's chief rivals.
Grey has campaigned on continuing the changes initiated by Wilder, but he also said he would be a more genial leader after repeated clashes between Wilder and council over the limits of the elected mayor's power.
In its analysis, the Virginia Public Access Project found that 40 people who collectively gave $41,257 to Wilder's campaign are now backing Grey to the tune of $106,848. The review was based on contributions reported by the campaigns though Aug. 31.
Topping the list of contributors are executives Thomas F. Farrell II of Dominion Resources Inc.; Theodore L. Chandler Jr. of LandAmerica Financial Group; Anthony F. Markel of Markel Corp.; Richard L. Sharp, formerly of Circuit City; and Stuart C. Siegel of S&K Menswear.
Each has given $10,000 to Grey after contributing far less to Wilder. Similarly, Grey has loaned his own campaign $10,000 after donating $1,250 to Wilder.
Chandler characterized his support for Wilder and Grey as two distinct choices. He would not say why he has given $10,000 to Grey after contributing only $1,000 to Wilder.
"I supported Doug Wilder four years ago because I believed the city needed a strong mayor to shake it out of its lethargy," Chandler said. "I'm supporting Robert Grey today because I believe he's the best of the candidates of being able to deliver on the city regaining its rightful role as the heart of a strong regional community."
The former Wilder supporters who are now helping Pantele and Jones aren't giving with nearly as much enthusiasm as they did four years ago.
Eighteen people who donated $37,326 to Wilder have given $12,669 to Pantele. Likewise, 18 people who contributed $21,459 to Wilder have funneled $10,532 to Jones.
Beverley W. Armstrong, vice chairman of CCA Industries, gave $500 to Jones after contributing $5,000 to Wilder. He said he's undecided in this year's race and hasn't written checks to Pantele or Grey because they haven't asked for support.
"I'm not nearly as concerned about who wins the mayor's race as I am about their conviction to hire a world-class chief administrative officer," Armstrong said. "I am convinced the city is wasting more than $100 million a year."
Mark Merhige, president of Shockoe Properties, contributed $2,080 to Wilder but is playing it safe this year. He has given $500 apiece to Jones and Pantele and says he has committed the same amount to Grey.
"They're all my friends," Merhige said. "I've known them all for a long time. . . . They'll all be fine mayors."
Williams, who is making his second bid to be Richmond's mayor, said the business leaders who have transferred their support from Wilder to Grey seem to want a mayor who will represent their interests, not a leader.
"The more money you give Grey, you're just polishing his image," Williams said.
Jones' campaign declined to comment on the backing that Grey has received from former Wilder supporters. Goldman, who managed Wilder's campaign four years ago, said Grey and the donors have more than Wilder in common.
"Bob supported getting rid of the School Board just like they did," said Goldman, referring to a letter signed by Grey and 25 other business leaders calling for a switch from an elected to an appointed School Board.
Seven signers of the letter, including Farrell, Chandler and Markel, contributed to both Wilder and Grey.
Attorney Michael Morchower gave $2,500 to Wilder and $3,000 to Goldman. He credited Goldman for much of Wilder's political success but said most donors are turned off by Goldman's Northeastern pedigree.
"What Paul doesn't have is old Richmond," Morchower said. "What's important in Richmond is who's your daddy, and where you go to church."
