Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 2, 1993 TAG: 9311020196
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When he was sworn in Monday as a Roanoke City Council member, he stood less than 10 feet from a picture of his father.
Richard Edwards served on council and was also mayor nearly half a century ago.
Flanked by family members, including his mother, John Edwards could not let the occasion pass without mentioning his father.
"Serving on council is meaningful to me and my family in a personal way," he said.
His father later became a judge of the former Roanoke Hustings Court.
Edwards, a former U.S. attorney for Western Virginia, attended his first meeting after being appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr.
After taking the oath, Edwards recalled that his father and other young veterans returned to Roanoke after World War II and helped usher in a period of progress and growth in the city.
They constructed new buildings, hired a new city manager and desegregated the library and police force years before the U.S. Supreme Court ordered public schools to desegregate, Edwards said.
The era of progress led to Roanoke's becoming an All-American city in 1952.
Edwards, 50, sees parallels between the late 1940s and today in Roanoke and Western Virginia.
"We are, as a city and a region, at a crossroads," he said. "Having lost the headquarters of the railroad and seen our largest local bank taken over by an out-of-state bank, we can no longer rely on our traditional industries for economic security.
"A new vision is needed. This new vision must be regional, and not just local. Each of the localities in the region must have an interest in it," he continued.
Edwards said there are many unfinished items on council's agenda, such as the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center and forging closer ties with Virginia Tech.
"But more importantly, there are ideas and projects, not yet envisioned, which need to be placed on council's plate for action," he said.
City Democratic leaders and others nearly filled the Council Chamber for the swearing-in ceremony. Edwards' appointment enables the Democrats to retain a 5-2 majority on council.
Edwards, who ran for Congress last year and has been active in the Democratic party for many years, said he had never considered running for council.
After Fitzpatrick resigned to become director of the New Century Council, Edwards said a friend asked him if would be interested in filling the vacancy.
"The more I thought about it, the more interested I became," he said.
Edwards said he doesn't consider City Council to be a step down after serving as U.S. Attorney and running for Congress. In a sense, all politics are local, he said, so being on council is grass-roots politics.
He has not decided whether he will seek the remaining two years in Fitzpatrick's term in May's special election, required because there are more than two years left in the term. Edwards was appointed to fill the term until June 30.
At his first meeting, Edwards was appointed to the city's Audit and Legislative committees, the Economic Development Commission and the Fifth Planning District Commission.
After closed sessions, it will be Edwards' job to read the statement certifying that council had discussed in closed meeting only those issues permitted by state law. That task always goes to the new kid on the block, who for the past 16 months has been Delvis "Mac" McCadden.
by CNB