EARLEY TARGETS DRUG DEALERS

Republican Mark L. Earley yesterday promised that his administration would
target and punish drug pushers who sell their "poison" in or near schools.

Spelling out his new program called "Expel," the GOP candidate for governor
said that dealers who sell such drugs as marijuana, heroin and cocaine at
or near schools would receive at least a one-year minimum sentence in
addition to any other penalty.

Additionally, Earley, a former state attorney general, said he would close
a loophole in state law to make peddlers of prescription and designer drugs
like Ecstasy subject to the state's tough drug kingpin penalty statutes.

Also, the Republican proposed a law to make drug dealers liable in civil
court for their actions. Parents, children, spouses and others who have
suffered because of the distribution and use of illegal drugs could sue a
dealer and collect damages.

"As governor, I will coordinate a statewide effort of mentoring, tougher
penalties for dealers, increased parental involvement, expanded access to
treatment and increased education to protect our children from those who
would poison them to illegal drugs," he said yesterday.

He promised to recruit 21,000 mentors to help children avoid drug and
alcohol abuse.

He also would expand treatment programs for users and abusers of drugs,
especially to ensure that they receive long-time help.

Earley laid out his drug-fighting initiatives in a news conference in front
of the closed Cafine's Restaurant and Cafe in downtown Richmond. The
bistro, at 401 East Grace St., had been investigated for drug abuse and, as
attorney general, Earley called for the revocation of its license to sell
alcohol.

Earley will pursue his law-and-order theme in a new tele-vision ad that
will appear across the state except for the expensive Northern Virginia
markets. The ad blitz will cost about $400,000, said campaign consultant
Anne Kincaid.

The 30-second ad, reminiscent of a 1940s news reel, shows an inmate pasting
newspaper articles into a scrapbook that tout Earley's anti-crime record
and question Warner's stances. The announcer says that Democratic rival
Mark R. Warner opposed abolishing parole.

That provoked a sharp response from Warner, the latest round of charges and
countercharges on issues ranging from guns to gay marriage.

In a teleconference call with reporters yesterday, Warner adamantly stated
that he supported abolishing parole and called on Earley to pull what he
called "an attack ad."

"We are not going to let charges like this stand. We will respond and
correct the record when they continue to falsify my record," Warner said.
"I would hope he would step back and reconsider."

Kincaid said it wasn't a negative ad but was "exposing and truth telling."

"Mark Warner's not liking the fact that we are shining the light on his
past," she said.

Wilder-proposed debate Also yesterday, it became clear that a debate
proposed by former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder at Virginia Commonwealth
University will not take place.

The Warner campaign said it could not agree to the proposed date of Oct. 17
or an alternative of Oct. 10. It maintained that the only dates available
were Oct. 2 or 5 and that it couldn't debate after Oct. 7 because of a full
schedule.

Last week, Wilder invited both candidates to appear in a televised,
statewide debate. Earley agreed, and Warner said he could only meet on the
earlier dates. Yesterday, Wilder proposed a compromise date of Oct. 10,
besides the original date. Earley accepted, but the Warner camp repeated
its earlier position.

Three more debates are scheduled. The NAACP will hold an event on Sept. 17
at George Mason University; the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce will
sponsor a debate on Sept. 21; and the Virginia Capitol Correspondents
Association and the University of Virginia Center for Government Studies
will hold what will end up being the race's only statewide, televised
debate on Oct. 7.