Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 19, 1994 TAG: 9409220005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Just ask Wayne Newman.
Newman will accept no contributions in his campaign for the Windsor Hills seat on the School Board. And he won't seek the endorsement of any political organization, including the Roanoke County Education Association, a teachers' group.
Newman plans to spend no more than $1,000 on his campaign. He will print his campaign leaflets at the moving van company office where he is general manager.
Newman says he does not want to be indebted to any group or individual. He plans to run a low-key campaign that will include a lot of door-to-door campaigning
The other candidates say they, too, will focus on direct contact with voters, with little television, radio or newspaper advertising.
Most are running for elected office for the first time. Only one - Richard Cullinan - has served before.
Cullinan, another Windsor Hills candidate, was on the School Board in the late 1980s. Board members then were appointed by a selection commission appointed by the county's Circuit Court judges.
Some Windsor Hills candidates believe Cullinan's experience might give him an advantage, but he disagrees.
"I'm not a politician, and I don't have that much of an advantage," said Cullinan, a certified public accountant and president of a company that restores damaged buildings.
For candidates and voters alike, the first School Board election in the county's history will be a journey of discovery. There are no precedents or guides.
The candidates are not quite sure how they should run. Do they talk about themselves or the issues?
And what are the issues? Budgets and funding? Weapons and drugs? Prayer in schools? Parental involvement? Educational standards? A new Cave Spring High School?
Some candidates indicate that their campaigns won't be as spartan as Newman's. But they all plan to run grass-roots efforts that will rely heavily on friends, neighbors and volunteers to help them reach voters.
Ask Evelyn Ball, a candidate in the Vinton District.
"I think most everyone is running with a low budget. We are all neophytes at this point and learning as we go along," Ball said. "I've got some people helping me."
Lisa Merrill, a Windsor Hills candidate, said some friends are holding parties to introduce her to residents in other neighborhoods.
"This is a real grass-roots movement," Merrill said, adding that she is knocking on doors and talking with voters.
A former public school teacher in four states and a motivational lecturer, Merrill stresses her educational experience and knowledge of the county school system.
Mike Stovall, a Vinton candidate, is taking his campaign to football and soccer games, as well as going door to door when he has time.
A Vinton police investigator, Stovall said he has a network of volunteers for almost every aspect of the campaign. Stovall is stressing accessibility in his campaign, saying he will be available to parents and voters if he is elected.
Bob Rouse, another Vinton candidate, said he, too, is knocking on doors to talk directly with voters.
Rouse said he has many volunteers helping him, including some supporters of U.S. Senate candidates Oliver North and Charles Robb. Rouse said the North and Robb supporters are passing out leaflets for him.
Rouse, a real-estate agent, said he has found that parents and voters are concerned about the need for more parental involvement and more discipline. He wants parents to attend more School Board meetings and voice their opinions.
The magisterial districts are small enough that the candidates can contact many voters in person. Windsor Hills has 10,027 registered voters, and Vinton has 7,652.
All of the candidates are running as independents because there is no provision in state law for political parties to nominate school board candidates. To run, a person must present petitions with the signatures of 125 registered voters.
Tom Leggette, who is running in Windsor Hills, is the only candidate to raise the partisan issue. Leggette has the personal backing of the chairmen of both the Republican and Democratic parties in the county, but the parties themselves have not endorsed any candidates.
Merrill said the General Assembly intended to keep politics out of school board elections by requiring candidates to file as independents.
"I think this is the point of school board elections, that they be nonpartisan," Merrill said.
Rouse said he believes that school board elections should be free of politics. "At this level, I don't think we should be concerned about partisan issues," he said.
In the Windsor Hills District, there are four candidates: Cullinan, Leggette, Merrill and Newman.
Three hopefuls are running in the Vinton District: Ball, Rouse and Stovall.
The incumbents - Charlsie Pafford in Windsor Hills, and Barbara "Bootie" Chewning in Vinton - are not running.
Incumbent Jerry Canada is running unopposed in the Hollins District.
The Cave Spring and Catawba districts won't elect members until November 1995. In the meantime, incumbents Maurice "Buck" Mitchell and Frank Thomas will remain on the board.
Several candidates - notably Ball, Leggette and Merrill - have stressed their PTA work and their participation in school activities.
Ball, a contract document specialist at Shenandoah Life Insurance, is a past president of the County PTA Council.
"I'm concentrating on my work in PTA and my understanding of the issues," Ball said. She said she has found that some voters are confused because the process is new.
Leggette, a lawyer, is focusing on the need for the School Board and school administrators to keep parents better informed on pending issues. He said parents are not always consulted or informed about major issues, such as the proposed realignment of students between Cave Spring Junior High and Hidden Valley Junior High.
If elected, Leggette said, he would publish a monthly newsletter to keep parents informed about school issues and would create an advisory committee.
Merrill said she wants the county to have a superior school system, and she would be an advocate for the children.
Like Rouse, Leggette believes that the School Board and school administrators should try to encourage more parental involvement.
Cullinan believes his School Board experience would be beneficial, especially during the transition to an elected board and a new superintendent.
"I have experience and knowledge that could help, and I'm willing to do it," Cullinan said.
Newman, who grew up in Roanoke County, said he knows the schools in the Windsor Hills District and that would enable him to better understand the need for a new Cave Spring High School and other school building needs.
In the Vinton District, Rouse and Stovall are reminding voters that they grew up in the Vinton area. Rouse was born in the Mount Pleasant area and graduated from William Byrd High School. Stovall also has lived in Roanoke County all of his life, attended county schools and graduated from William Byrd High.
by CNB