Friday, June 05, 2009
Voters will decide if campaign attacks were effective
Martin Jeffrey has been on the offensive in his attempt to unseat Del. Onzlee Ware.
Del. Onzlee Ware
Martin Jeffrey
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roanoke.com/politics
The Democratic primary campaign between Del. Onzlee Ware and challenger Martin Jeffrey has included battles over voter petitions and campaign finances that have overshadowed any debate over the economy, health care or specifics such as payday lending.
The race has included an assault charge filed by Jeffrey's campaign manger against a city Democratic official and a legal ruling in Ware's favor from the Roanoke commonwealth's attorney, who has endorsed the incumbent and contributed money to his campaign.
Whether all the back-and-forth will amount to anything at the polls remains to be seen, as voters prepare for Tuesday's primary election in Ware's 11th House District, which stretches from Northwest through Southeast Roanoke and into Roanoke County.
Jeffrey, a 47-year-old best known for his years as an outspoken activist and past president of the Roanoke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, began alleging campaign irregularities against Ware as soon as the race began.
Ware, a 55-year-old lawyer who has held the seat since 2003, denied any impropriety and accused his opponent of playing political games because Jeffrey has nothing else to offer. Many of the city's prominent Democrats have aligned with Ware, leaving Jeffrey and his campaign manager, Mark Powell, often at odds with a party apparatus they joined in January and whose support they would need in November.
Jeffrey got the jump in the campaign by announcing in March he was running because Ware "has failed to adequately represent the citizens of the 11th District," and accusing the incumbent of being a tool of special interest donors.
Ware officially announced his re-election bid in early April, declaring "activism is fine, but leaders need to look for solutions."
He also pledged "to give as good as I get."
And the battle began in earnest within minutes of the filing deadline. Jeffrey and Powell were at the Roanoke registrar's office demanding to see the voter petitions submitted by Ware.
Jeffrey's papers had been filed earlier in a gambit that ensured his name would come first on the ballot.
Witnesses have described the April 10 incident in the registrar's office as contentious, and fallout from it and a later meeting has dominated the rest of the campaign.
Roanoke Democratic Chairman Tony Reed -- the lead person in charge of the primary activities -- told Jeffrey he could see Ware's documents as required by state law and party rules but that he didn't have them with him.
Powell and Jeffrey were insistent, however, and the exchange reportedly became heated.
Reed later that evening met Jeffrey and Powell at a bookstore and allowed Jeffrey to look over Ware's petitions.
After that day's meetings, Powell went to a magistrate to swear out an assault warrant against Reed, claiming he was intimidated, but not physically struck, by the committee chairman.
That case will be heard later this month.
Although Jeffrey contended he should have been allowed to copy Ware's petitions and he was given insufficient time to examine them, Jeffrey said he found several irregularities. He questioned whether there was a sufficient number of signatures and he said the lack of a seal on the notarization of the affidavits on the petitions should invalidate them.
As required by state law, he took that complaint to Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell -- an elected Democrat who was already on record endorsing Ware's candidacy and is listed in state records as a financial contributor to Ware's campaign.
This week, Caldwell issued a release saying Ware's documents were in order and legal.
Powell said Caldwell's refusal to recuse himself from the investigation was evidence that "the process is corrupted."
Caldwell, responding, said Powell has called him as a witness in his assault complaint against Reed, therefore "vouching for my credibility. If they trust me as a witness in the Reed case, why would they not trust me otherwise?"
Jeffrey and Powell have also filed a complaint with the state board of elections about Ware's campaign finance documents. Jeffrey alleged Ware's reports were illegally vague and that they suggested a pattern of spending that might have been for personal use.
The latest figures from the board show Jeffrey has collected $4,500 in campaign contributions so far this election season, compared with $60,000 for Ware.
The state board's campaign finance manager, David Allen, said this week that while a review of Ware's reports is continuing, "as far as I can tell, I don't see anything so far as a violation of the state code."
Nevertheless, he said, "I'm sure there will be something done," probably to require Ware to amend some of the reports to provide more detail. However, he said, such amendments are common in the state.
Ware said any missing information was inadvertent, insisting all his spending has been in line with state law.
Ware, Reed and Caldwell have all said they believe Jeffrey and his campaign were pursuing the technical objections in a bid to stir up "free publicity."
Jeffrey and Powell deny that, asserting that their only motivation has been to bring "transparency to the electoral process," in Powell's words.
Both candidates carry some personal baggage that each has been careful not to make an issue in the campaign.
Supporters in each camp, however, frequently bring up the other's personal troubles in conversations.
Ware made headlines in 2003 while he was making his first run for delegate when his wife at the time filed divorce papers accusing him of physical abuse, drug abuse, adultery and larceny. He denied the charges and the divorce was later settled without court testimony or additional comment from either party.
Jeffrey has been taken to court numerous times since the mid-1980s for nonpayment of bills and filed for and later emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1990 and 2004. A 2003 altercation with a teenage son led to an assault charge that was later dismissed.
Jeffrey said his most recent financial difficulties are the result of his wife and him putting all their money into a consulting business, and that he is committed to repaying all his debts. He said he also is a forklift operator for Elizabeth Arden.
His experience as "an ordinary guy" doing his best in a difficult economy is evidence of one of his qualifications for the job as delegate, he said.
Although their contact with the media has been dominated by the campaign irregularity claims, each candidate has been speaking to individuals and community groups about other issues.
Jeffrey has been calling for economic stimulus, particularly through the creation of "green" businesses.
He also has called for the reduction of high school dropout rates, and has said that "basic, preventive health care for all" is a necessity. Ware has been complimented by members of both parties for his ability to cross the aisle to cooperate in the legislature.
He was criticized by some advocates for the poor last session for opposing more severe restrictions on payday lenders than were eventually passed. He defends his support of regulation but not elimination of such lenders, who he said fill a need for the poor.
The next session of the legislature will need to be looking at ways to "grow this economy," he said, including being more aggressive in attracting the movie industry to Virginia.
