AD WATCH:

Another in a Series of Examinations of the Accuracy of Political Advertising

Candidate: Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D)

Election: Nov. 4, Virginia governor

Producer: Shrum, Devine & Donilon, Washington

Time: 30 seconds

Visual: Garth Wheeler, president of the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police, speaks to the camera in coat and tie in front of a lake. The ad also shows several images of Beyer with police officers and sheriff's deputies from several Virginia agencies and the FOP logo.

Audio: Narrator: "Virginia's police speak out on Jim Gilmore's false attacks against Don Beyer." Garth Wheeler: "I'm Garth Wheeler, president of the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police. For the last eight years, Don Beyer has been a leader in the fight to protect our communities and our families. He's worked to abolish parole to put criminals behind bars. He has fought for new laws to protect children from sex offenders and to give victims the right to oppose plea bargains. He's taken the kind of smart, tough approach to fighting crime that we need. All across Virginia, law enforcement professionals are supporting Don Beyer. We hope you will too."

Analysis: Beyer plays his trump card on crime, an issue that has favored Republicans in past elections, by touting his endorsement by Virginia's largest police union over Republican James S. Gilmore III, a former state attorney general. The endorsement is not just the result of Beyer's crime platform: Wheeler, who worked to elect Republican Gov. George Allen, has said the police association's vote had less to do with crime-fighting than with Gilmore's opposition to a state law that gives police generous access to compensation benefits for heart and lung diseases because of their stressful jobs. But during his two terms as lieutenant governor Beyer has worked to toughen state laws against sex offenders and domestic violence, and set up a public registry of sex violators. The FOP endorsement was a coup for Beyer because Gilmore has spent the last decade in law enforcement. The parole abolition claim is a stretch of the facts. Beyer spoke out in public hearings and among Democratic legislators to eliminate parole in 1994, but only after Gov. George Allen championed it as his administration's first priority and developed a broad plan. Beyer at other times has questioned the potential high cost of building more prisons to handle inmates who otherwise would have been paroled. After Allen released his plan, Beyer latched on to the idea and proposed a tougher plan to abolish parole for existing inmates, which was unconstitutional.

Back to the Top

Go to Governor's Race Opening Page
Go to Key Post Stories | Go to All Post Stories | Go to Campaign Documents | Go to Maps



Go to Washington World