Paid to Stay At Home?

• Share

(2 of 2)

, The controversy cast a powerful light on the unseemly tactics both parties have used to influence black voters in many elections. Payments of walking- around money -- small amounts given to ministers and community leaders to encourage maximum turnout of black voters -- are a staple for Democratic candidates and are legal under New Jersey law. But black party activists say privately that the money is often used to purchase endorsements. "You can buy black preachers by the dozen very cheaply," says a black New Jersey Democrat, who admits participating in such schemes in earlier elections.

On the other hand, G.O.P. strategists have sometimes used dirty tricks to hold down the black vote. After G.O.P. gubernatorial candidate Thomas Kean defeated Florio in 1981 by fewer than 2,000 votes, a federal court ruled that the Republicans' "ballot security task force" had violated federal laws by stationing gun-toting, off-duty police officers near polling places in black areas to frighten voters away. The state G.O.P. eventually entered into a consent decree promising never to use such tactics again.

As the outrage spread, Rollins recanted, issuing a statement that "my remarks left the impression of something that was not true and did not occur." Voters may soon learn which version of Rollins' story is closer to the truth: Whitman promised to release her campaign finance records over the weekend, ahead of the deadline imposed by state law for both parties to disclose how they spent the $5.9 million each is allotted for the campaign. Rollins, who had been distrusted by many Republicans since he defected to Ross Perot during the 1992 presidential campaign, may find himself shunned by future candidates. Says Whitman's spokesman Carl Golden: "One thing you can bet on is that when she runs for re-election in 1997, Ed Rollins will not be here."