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: Republican James S. Gilmore III is framed on a dark background with graphics such as a falling red arrow illustrating dwindling state pollution enforcement. The building in the background belongs to Smithfield Foods Inc., the pork producer in trouble with state and federal environmental regulators. Beyer in shirt-sleeves talks outdoors with men on a speeding motorboat and on a riverbank, and with a child in a life vest.

Audio: Narrator: "Who will protect the environment? As attorney general, Jim Gilmore let the polluters off the hook. Under Gilmore, environmental fines against polluters dropped by more than 98 percent to almost nothing. In fact, under Jim Gilmore, Virginia ranked last among southern states for fines against polluters. Don Beyer believes in strong enforcement of our environmental laws and in making polluters pay. He's been endorsed by Virginia's Clean Water Action. Don Beyer. Building the best Virginia."

Analysis: Beyer focues on an issue that Democrats say is crucial to their success and plays off a series of recent environmental stories, from fish kills in Chesapeake Bay tributaries to polluting hog farms to landfills in Southside Virginia. Beyer bases his attacks on a 1996 audit of the state Department of Environmental Quality by the Virginia General Assembly's investigative arm. The audit found that state fines levied on water polluters dropped from $327,000 in 1992 to $4,000 the first half of 1996, a period roughly coinciding with the Republican administration of Gov. George Allen. Gilmore, who was attorney general before resigning to campaign full-time in June, was not responsible for the pro-business actions of Allen's cabinet officials and agencies. But he has defended those policies -- which are under attack by environmentalists and U.S. regulators -- and refrained from distancing himself from Allen's environmental record when fellow Republicans warned that doing so would make him appear disloyal. Although environmentalists are backing Beyer, the ad gives no specifics about what the Democrat would do differently, and some of Virginia's recent problems -- a federal crackdown on Smithfield and increased dumping of trash from out of state -- have roots in prior Democratic administrations. The ad may be targeted at vote-rich Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, where pro-environment sentiment runs strongest.

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