THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 14, 1995 TAG: 9511140102
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FRANKLIN LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
The City Council voted 5-2 to ratify the contract of new City Manager Rowland L. ``Bucky'' Taylor despite fervent protest from a mostly black, standing-room-only audience.
Taylor, 46, a Southampton County administrator, will assume the post Jan. 1.
He will replace Dale R. Cooke, whom the council fired Oct. 23 after meeting for more than three hours in executive session.
The council said it dismissed Cooke, an African American, due to a ``lack of confidence'' in her and for personnel reasons.
Mayor C. Franklin Jester Jr. and council members Lynn E. Powell, Robert E. Harrell, Oscar W. Babb and N. Norwood Boyd voted in favor of Taylor. Council members Mary E. Hilliard and E. Kent Pope dissented.
The move came despite bitter opposition from black residents who charge that Franklin has a long history of not hiring or retaining top black city officials.
``You didn't like black women telling white officials what to do. We're tired of your crap,'' Theresa Parker, a former City Council member, said during the public comment session.
William Blue, a top adviser in the Franklin NAACP, warned that the black community wouldn't re-elect Jester.
``My people have been pressed for jobs,'' Blue said. ``My people have been pushed against the Berlin Wall, and this wall must come down. We have been pressed in Franklin by a race war.''
Several residents, led by Wayne Hart, said they are planning to protest the businesses of Jester and Powell in the aftermath of the vote. However, one of the council member who voted to fire Cooke was black, and another who voted to hire Taylor was black.
About 150 black citizens, including members of Franklin's NAACP, met with Cooke Friday night.
She told them that she was moving to modernize city government and that some officials resented her management decisions, Hart said.
Hart cited as an example Cooke's five-day suspension, without pay, of the Electric Department director for refusing to attend a management training session.
``The mess needs to stop - the crooked stuff and under-the-table dealing that only benefits the white community,'' Hart said.
In an earlier interview, Jester said he was shocked by the protest plan.
He refused further comment about Cooke's termination.
The Virginia State Conference and Franklin branch of the NAACP said they support the black group's effort but not the protest of the businesses.
Dr. Alvin Harris, Franklin NAACP president, said the City Council has a long history of racial divisiveness.
Few blacks hold leadership positions, he said, and white city officials want to keep it that way.
Nevertheless, he said, Franklin needs ``to come together as a city government. We must improve our city; it's divided along racial lines.''
Cooke, 45, was hired as assistant to the city manager by former City Manager Jack Jackson in April 1994. When Jackson was diagnosed with brain cancer, Cooke became acting city manager.
When Cooke was fired, long-time city employee Mollie Bass became acting city manager.
KEYWORDS: FRANKLIN CITY COUNCIL FRANKLIN CITY MANAGER by CNB