Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 18, 1990 TAG: 9005180711
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Long
A few years later, as Pearisburg grew, a lone traffic light was put up at the intersection.
Needless to say, a lot changed in the 44 years since the early years of Taylor's reign as mayor.
Today, most town streets are paved and there's more than one traffic light. There are two.
OK, so a lot of things haven't changed in Pearisburg. Maybe because they've withstood the test of time.
So has Clarence Taylor. He likes it that way.
Pearisburg voters also must like it that way or they wouldn't have kept Taylor around for more than four decades.
At age 80, Taylor is the nation's longest serving mayor. He was first elected in 1946 and has been re-elected 18 times.
Only four times was Taylor challenged, most recently by David Greenlief, who Taylor easily defeated May 1 by a 301 to 80 vote.
"I think the mayor was one of the only ones to think [Greenlief] had a chance," City Manager Ken Vittum said.
"It's really hard to go against someone who's been established for the period he has," said Greenlief, who works at the Hoechst-Celanese Celco plant. "But I thought I had a pretty good chance. . . . I'll try next time."
For Taylor, there may not be a next time, he says.
Taylor's record has gained him interviews with dozens of newspapers, magazines, Cable News Network and other televisions stations.
Also the state Senate enacted a resolution commending his many years of service. And his feat was noted in "Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not."
It's been a long, bumpy ride, he said, and he's seen a lot change and a lot remain the same in his hometown over the years.
But enough is enough.
Though popping into his office in the municipal building has been part of his daily routine since retiring as manager of a local plant 21 years ago, Taylor may call it quits after this term.
"This was probably my last election," he said.
Taylor is a soft-spoken man with a passion for golf, as evidenced by his golf-club tie clip.
His age hasn't kept him from grabbing an occasional 18 holes with friends at the Giles Country Club, which he helped found in 1939.
"He knows every inch of that course," said former town manager John Strutner, who played a round of golf with Taylor on a recent visit to town. "His game's the same as it always it. He hits it not very far, but straight."
And Taylor plays politics much the same way he plays golf - nothing fancy, but solid, responsible and honest.
"I believe in keeping everything above board and everything honest," Taylor said. "People keep asking me why I keep running [for mayor] and the first thing I tell them is `because we've got a good government and an honest town council.' "
"He cares a lot about the town," said Strutner, who was manager from 1984 to 1988 and now works in Abingdon for the Virginia Department of Economic Development.
Taylor is a Pearisburg native, born and bred. He's been married to his wife, Mary Kate, for 56 years. They have lived in the same brick house on Gale Road for 40 years. They have a daughter in Staunton, a son in Atlanta and four grandchildren.
Taylor graduated from a Roanoke business college and at age 24 became manager of the Leas and McVitty leather plant in town, where he worked 35 years until he retired in 1969.
He entered politics in 1944 when elected to council. Two years later, he took the advice of his friend, Hugh Charlton, who was mayor, and ran for the seat Charlton was vacating. He's been there since.
"He's seen Pearisburg grow, develop, change, prosper and not prosper. I think that experience helps," Vittum said. "I don't think I could ask for a better mayor. He's sharp and he has a grasp of all the issues."
Taylor said it was easier being mayor 40 years ago. "There wasn't much to run," he said.
While growth in the 1\ -square-mile town never exploded, it has been steady.
During Taylor's years as mayor, population has grown from 800 to 2,300. The police force grew from one man with no car to seven men each with their own car.
Giles Memorial Hospital was built in 1959, which Taylor was president of for years.
The town also has progressed from a water system that shut down at night to allow it to refill to a modern system that will support the town for decades.
Vittum and others say Taylor - and town council members, two of whom have been there 15 years - have been stable through all of that but still have been willing to accept change.
Taylor appears laid back and conservative, but Vittum said he's also progressive and willing to initiate change, even if it means taking flak from the community.
Taylor recalls one of the roughest periods of his tenure when council started passing stricter zoning laws after the Celco plant spurned town growth in the 1950s.
"Those landowners just raised thunder. I'm surprised I was still elected after that," Taylor said.
Taylor said some of the things he's most proud of are:
The town library, with one of Virginia's highest per-capita takeout rates.
A modern $2.5 million sewage treatment plant being completed next week to replace the 25-year-old one.
A Virginia Municipal League award for water system of the year, which the town won in March after repairs to leaky water pipes saved 100,000 gallons of water a day.
The league's achievement award for effective government, which Pearisburg won last year beating out 90 other applicants.
Taylor also takes pride in switching to a manager/council form of government in 1948. It allowed the manager to handle day-to-day affairs while the mayor and council handled policy matters.
"Clarence doesn't try to micro-manage. That's what he hired me for," Vittum said.
Some of the things Taylor would like to see in the next few years are:
More housing, especially condominiums, which he and his wife are looking to buy.
Improved relations with Giles County and the Town of Narrows. In the past, relations had been strained.
Business growth downtown, which has vacant buildings because businesses moved to nearby malls.
"I'd like it to reach a point where there are no vacant buildings on the street," he said, driving his car past boarded-up storefronts.
"I don't think it'll ever happen, but you gotta hope."
by CNB