Pubdate: Wed, 29 Aug 2001
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Copyright: 2001 Richmond Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365
Author: Peter Savodnik

KAINE, KATZEN CLASH ON ISSUES BOTH OPPOSE 
LEGALIZED POT 

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The two major-party candidates vying for 
lieutenant governor clashed on the airwaves last night, with 
Republican Jay Katzen trying to tar his Democratic opponent, 
Timothy M. Kaine, as a liberal, and Kaine accusing Katzen of 
needless "labeling" and "mud-slinging."

"I'm unapologetic about being a conservative," Katzen, a Fauquier 
County member of the House of Delegates, declared in his 
hour-long debate with Kaine on Roanoke-based public radio 
station WVTF's "Evening Edition," with Daily Progress political 
writer Bob Gibson as host.

"I'm very proud of the progress we've made," Katzen continued, 
citing new public-school standards and parole reform. He added 
that government should "get the taxes back to the people" and 
"make sure that our streets are safe for the people of Virginia."

Kaine, the mayor of Richmond, shunned any liberal-conservative 
distinctions and instead sought to portray himself as a 
results-oriented, can-do centrist who has forged alliances between 
gun-rights and gun-control activists, among others.

"I've been a crime-cutter, a tax-rate cutter, a school-builder . . . and 
I think we'd be better off just skipping labels," Kaine said.

Katzen also contended that Kaine supports homosexual marriage 
and would rather make room for homosexual groups to use 
public-school facilities in Richmond than the Boy Scouts.

Kaine replied that he was once a Boy Scout and his children are 
Scouts and that he has never countenanced homosexual 
marriage.

"I've only advocated that people not get kicked out of their 
apartments or lose their jobs because of who they are," he said.

Kaine further voiced support for spending more money on public 
schools and universities.

Asked if he would support greater school choice - a hallmark of 
Katzen's campaign, which supports tuition tax credits - Kaine said 
he would agree to "multiple choices . . . within the public 
framework."

While the candidates disagreed on a slew of polarizing issues - 
from car tax relief to abortion rights to handgun restrictions - they 
both voiced unequivocal opposition to legalizing marijuana, 
Libertarian candidate Gary A. Reams' issue of choice.

At one point in the radio show, Reams called in to promote his 
campaign and voice his support for a referendum on marijuana 
legalization.

"It amazes me that these experienced politicians could turn their 
backs to this constituency," said Reams, a Fairfax County 
consultant, observing that other states have supported using 
marijuana for medical purposes.

Reams' call prompted a handful of other callers to weigh in on the 
legalization debate.

One caller, a self-described conservative veteran who said he'd 
used marijuana for medical purposes, slammed Katzen for turning 
his back on legalization and said he'd be voting for Reams this fall.

Kaine and Katzen more or less agreed the state should share 
some of its income-tax revenue with localities.

And both candidates said after the radio show that their politics - 
and the values that underlie those politics - stemmed, in part, from 
their experiences abroad. Kaine cited his year on a Jesuit mission 
in Honduras and Katzen his career in the U.S. Foreign Service. 
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MAP posted-by: Josh