Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 19, 1993 TAG: 9310290355
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But Lee Garrett, a Democrat who held the seat for a term until defeated by Eddy, approaches issues with more of the kind of broad vision needed to guide the county in a complex time of growth and regional economic interdependence. That's why, in our view, the edge goes to Garrett.
Eddy, an electrical engineer who has lived in the Oak Grove area since 1962, has shown himself to be an intelligent, tirelessly probing and well-intentioned officeholder. With an engineer's precision, he has kept a razor-sharp eye on county business and spending.
Nor is Eddy devoid of commendable positions on issues. His recent (though minority) vote to restrict the density of a housing development along the Blue Ridge Parkway, his support for supervisors-appointed school boards, his participation on the Fifth Planning District Commission, and current support for regionalizing some government services come to mind.
Above all, Eddy has been an attentive inspector, a supervisor who reads the fine print and demands detailed information. Such fine-toothed care can be an asset to a public body.
Undue carefulness, on the other hand, can create meaningless delay and indecision. Eddy has often found himself lacking enough information to vote at all. And micromanagement can divert the board from its policy-making role, while adding unnecessary burdens on the county's administration.
Garrett is a former TV personality who retired from WSLS-Channel 10 in 1987. In seeking to regain the Windsor Hills seat, Garrett can point to his support for two major county projects approved during his years on the board: the Spring Hollow Reservoir and the new regional landfill in western Roanoke County. Both are important pieces of infrastructure for future economic development.
Indeed, the supervisors' activism of a few years ago stands in contrast with the more reactive nature of the current board.
Garrett was an early supporter of a professional police department to replace the system of an elected sheriff heading the county's law enforcement. Eddy opposed the change, though he now acknowledges the Police Department has done a good job and remains popular with county voters, who approved its creation.
Eddy has no strong feelings about reverting to the old sheriff's department, he says, but he points out that the change costs the county some state funding each year, and he's not sure the improvement has been worth the lost revenue.
Eddy has been ambivalent, to say the least, about county support for the Explore Park.
And he opposed any county contribution to the Hotel Roanoke's renovation. Garrett's views show more appreciation for these projects' regional importance.
Four years ago, Eddy opposed county membership on the Regional Airport Commission, balking at the 3-2 city-county membership split. He now says a proposal to add a business representative from each of the localities might change his view. Garrett favored creation of the commission.
Garrett also backed consolidation of Roanoke Valley governments when that issue last was put to a vote, while Eddy opposed it. Eddy says he favors the concept, but did not like the specifics of that plan.
Consolidation is no longer on the table. But both candidates acknowledge the need for closer regional cooperation to cut duplication of services and to combine localities' strengths to attract economic growth.
Based on the two candidates' records, however, Garrett would be the supervisor more inclined to follow up the rhetoric with progressive action.
Keywords:
POLITICS ENDORSEMENT
by CNB