Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990 TAG: 9003072073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGIE FISHER RICHMOND BUREAU
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
Not, mind you, that Del. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo is in the same league with Sen. Dudley "Buzz" Emick.
Emick is a world-class maverick, a man who's built his political career on establishment-baiting and whose "state of the curmudgeon" speeches on the Senate floor are more eagerly awaited by some than the governor's State of the Commonwealth addresses.
Trumbo wouldn't dare go strutting around the Capitol, twitting the General Assembly's old guard and raging against the system, like Emick.
He's only a freshman, after all, with less than 60 days experience as a state lawmaker. Also, unlike Emick, he's a Republican in the halls of power controlled by Democrats.
But some legislators and reporters have detected a little Buzz in the GOP newcomer.
Like Emick, Trumbo is an individualist, a free spirit and a good ol' boy from Southwest Virginia with a healthy skepticism toward much that others deem reverent here in the alleged Holy City.
Trumbo's outlook may have been colored by Emick, a 16-year veteran of the assembly. Trumbo, after graduating from The College of William and Mary Law School in 1983, worked three years for Emick's law firm, Carter, Roe, Emick and Moore. Although they "stayed away from each other's politics," Trumbo said he couldn't help but pick up from Emick a lot of what was happening in the legislature.
Trumbo, who grew up in Covington, worked as a teacher and football coach at Bath County High School before he decided to study law. At the time, he said, he was beginning to get involved in Republican Party activities, which threw him into contact with many lawyers who were making considerably more money than he was. "I told myself, `Hell, I can do what they do.' " So he and his wife, Susan, headed east.
For about a year, before he was accepted into law school, Trumbo was unemployed. His wife, working as a special-education teacher, supported them. Because the rent was cheap, they lived in a 150-year-old farmhouse in New Kent County where the only heat was from a wood stove.
Trumbo worked for a while as a security guard at Busch Gardens. Then he landed a job working in a warehouse at the Pepsi-Cola plant in Newport News. While working there, he said, he came to appreciate many of the problems of blue-collar workers. (When he ran for the House last year, organized labor's support for Trumbo was a major factor in his victory over Democrat Bill Wilson of Covington, a legislative veteran of 16 years.)
When he was graduated from law school, Trumbo said he interviewed for jobs at a couple of tony law firms in Richmond. But, throwing back his head and laughing boisterously, he recalled "looking around at all that mahogany and Oriental rugs, and I said, `Trumbo, this is no place to chew your tobacco around here.' " So, he was off to Fincastle.
One day shortly after he got the job at Emick's firm, Trumbo remembers walking out of the building with the highly partisan Democrat and dreading the conversation he knew he had to have with him.
"I said, `Buzz, I gotta tell you something. I hope this doesn't jeopardize my job, but I've been a Republican since way back.' Well, he stopped right in the middle of the parking lot and turned around and glared at me and I thought, `Uh oh, here it comes.' And he says, `Bo Bo' - he always calls me `Bo Bo' - he says, `as long as you don't run down the streets of Fincastle naked, I don't care what you do.' "
Emick said that was a fair accounting of the exchange, except that he also told Trumbo he'd better not catch him politicking against him while he was at the firm.
Trumbo said he was very careful about that. Even after he left to set up his own practice, Trumbo would not campaign for Republican Lee Eddy, who tried to unseat Emick in 1987. As for running for office himself, Trumbo said that idea might have been in the back of his mind when he was working for Emick, "but it was in no way overcoming my desire to eat."
Trumbo said he reckons he became interested in politics as a young man impressed by the concept of statesmanlike public service. "But then you get into all this political garbage and you get disenchanted. And that's within my own party!" he hooted.
Enjoying this little dig at partisan politics, Trumbo said "the Republicans don't know what to think of me."
Trumbo overcame his disenchantment and took on Wilson in 1989. At the time, he was town attorney for Buchanan and Troutville and active in many civic organizations, so he entered the race with strong connections in both Alleghany and Botetourt counties.
His father, the late Whitney Trumbo, had been principal at Covington High School; his mother still teaches in Covington. His campaign was endorsed by the Virginia Education Association, which traditionally backs Democrats more often than Republicans.
Mostly, Trumbo won by painting Wilson as a lawmaker who had grown lazy and out of touch with his constituents. Trumbo, for instance, charged that Wilson had been slow in asking state officials to control the hauling of Northeastern garbage to the Kim-Stan dump outside Clifton Forge.
Since arriving in Richmond in January, Trumbo has tried to be highly attentive to the back-home concerns of those in his district. The one and only bill he introduced is related to the Kim-Stan issue, although he stressed that it was not aimed at Kim-Stan.
The bill, which has passed both the House and Senate, gives local governing bodies powers to inspect vehicles with five or more axles that are hauling solid waste to landfills in their jurisdictions. The trucks could be examined for compliance with various laws and regulations.
Generally, like most freshmen, Trumbo has played it low-key during his first session. House Majority Leader Tom Moss of Norfolk said Trumbo has been almost "invisible," although considering Trumbo's demeanor that strains credibility.
Trumbo has a vivacious, friendly personality and a distinct casualness. He hates wearing coats. When he's officially on duty - on the House floor or in committee meetings - he's like other legislators, "dressed up like lawyers." But on weekends, one might easily catch him at his office here "in my bibs, my flannel shirt and with my Red Man in my back pocket."
At 5 feet 11 and 200 pounds, Trumbo worries about his weight, admitting he's gained some since coming to Richmond. He blames it on the abundance of food available at the many parties lobbying organizations have for lawmakers and the snacking he does during long floor sessions.
Frowning down at his belt, Trumbo thinks a waist is a terrible thing to mind. But "I need to lose weight. I'm fat. I know I'm in bad shape for a guy 35," he said.
As for his low profile, though Trumbo rarely speaks on the House floor, he has taken an active role in discussions of bills in his committees - Counties, Cities and Towns; Roads and Internal Navigation; and Agriculture.
"I can tell you that in the [Counties, Cities and Towns] committee, he is very well respected," said Del. Howard Copeland, D-Norfolk.
"He's paid a lot of attention to what's going on and tried to learn the procedures. I think he's laying the groundwork for being around here a good while," said Del. Steven Agee, R-Salem.
Trumbo gives a big grin. "My daddy used to tell me you learn more by keeping your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open, and that's what I'm trying to do."
by CNB