Paid to Stay At Home?

By Jack E. White

Ed Rollins must wish he had kept his big mouth shut. For years the Republican campaign consultant has been known as a compulsive truth teller with a penchant for speaking his mind even when it reflected badly on the candidate he was managing. Last week Rollins set a new standard for provocative candor by boasting that his latest electoral triumph -- Christine Todd Whitman's razor-thin victory over New Jersey Governor Jim Florio -- was largely the result of a political dirty trick.

In a breakfast meeting with Washington journalists, Rollins claimed that "street smart" New Jersey Republicans had doled out $500,000 in "walking-around money" to black ministers and Democratic Party activists on Whitman's behalf. But in this case the payments were actually sitting- around money, designed to counter Florio's heavy support among black voters by discouraging them from turning out on Election Day. As Rollins told the journalists, "We went into black churches and we basically said to ministers who had endorsed Florio, 'Do you have a special project?' And they said, 'We've already endorsed Florio.' We said, 'That's fine -- don't get up on the Sunday pulpit and preach. We know you've endorsed him, but don't get up there and say it's your moral obligation that you go on Tuesday to vote for Jim Florio.' " He added that Republicans had paid "key workers" in black Democratic strongholds to "go home, sit and watch television" instead of delivering voters to the polls. Bragged Rollins: "I think to a certain extent we suppressed their vote."

The comments ignited a storm of criticism and investigation. Snapped the Rev. Edward Verner, head of a black ministers' organization in Newark: "To suggest that the black vote or the black church is up for sale is a racist lie." The Justice Department and the state attorney general began investigations of possible criminal and civil rights violations, while Democratic leaders went to court seeking to have Whitman's victory nullified. Whitman initially denounced Rollins' assertion as "blatantly untrue" but late in the week said she would consider resigning if it was proved that the payoffs had been made and changed the outcome of the race.

Rollins' tale gained credibility from two facts: Whitman squeaked by with a margin of about 30,000 votes out of 2.4 million ballots, and turnout in black areas where Florio had overwhelming support fell off sharply. Though Florio garnered about 80% of the Newark vote, for example, his total was about 10,000 votes fewer than in 1989. Before Rollins piped up, Democrats had ascribed the lack of enthusiasm for Florio to the Governor's lackluster campaigning in black areas. "They took blacks for granted and paid a price in the turnout," said an aide to Newark Democratic Congressman Donald Payne. Now he suggests the drop-off may have had a more sinister explanation: that the G.O.P. had paid the price in cash.

, 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."