Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 4, 1990 TAG: 9004040789
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
White claims that school Superintendent Frank Tota and City Councilman James Trout, one of White's opponents in the May 1 election, played key roles in council's decision to fill Byrd's unexpired term from among the pool of applicants for two other seats.
White said Trout led the move to fill Byrd's seat from the current applicants because he wanted to help ensure the appointment of board members who are "acceptable" to Tota.
"Trout is tied right into this. I question his role in it," White said. "I think this is a direct manipulation of the process and I think the school superintendent is behind it."
Trout said today that White's charge is "so far out in the twilight zone" that it is absurd.
On Trout's motion, council voted Monday to fill Byrd's unexpired term from the nine applicants for the board seats held by White and Sallye Coleman.
Trout denied that he was involved in any attempt to prevent others from being considered for Byrd's seat. "I just picked up on the mayor's suggestion that we consider filling Mr. Byrd's seat from the applicants we have," he said.
Tota said he does not understand the basis for White's charge. "I don't know how we could have limited or controlled the number of people who applied," he said.
Tota said he had nothing to do with the timing of Byrd's resignation or council's decision to fill his term with a current applicant.
Byrd has denied that his decision to give up his seat now was part of a strategy to limit the number of applicants to fill his unexpired term.
Byrd said there was no hidden motive for him to change the effective date for his resignation from June 30 to March 28. He discounted speculation that he timed his resignation to try to keep supporters of Tota on the board.
"They are making a more sinister interpretation than the facts warrant," he said.
Council's decision to fill Byrd's seat from the existing pool of applicants angered Councilmen Howard Musser and David Bowers, who charged that it was "a sham and political shenanigans" aimed at preventing other people from being considered for the banker's unexpired term.
Musser is one of White's running mates on the Democratic ticket in the May election. Trout is seeking re-election as an independent.
Musser and Bowers wanted council to invite applications for Byrd's seat and consider others who did not apply for the seats held by White and Coleman.
Some people who were interested in being considered for Byrd's unexpired term assumed it would not be filled until later, Musser said. Byrd's term will end June 30, 1992.
Musser said some people called and told him they did not apply for the White and Coleman seats because they thought council would appoint blacks to fill them. White and Coleman are black.
Byrd, who accepted a job as president of a bank in Charleston, W.Va., earlier this year, sent a letter to council on March 14 stating he would resign June 30 because of his new job. But he said Tuesday that the date was not sacred.
Because of increasing duties in his new job, Byrd said, he found he would not have time to do both, so he decided it was best to make his resignation effective earlier.
White, who is not seeking reappointment to the board, said he has no problem with the nine applicants for the board seats. But he agreed with Musser and Bowers that more people would probably have applied if they had known that Byrd's seat would be filled at the same time as the other two seats, which have terms beginning July 1.
Under the city's procedure for filling vacancies, council holds public interviews with up to three applicants for each vacancy. With three seats to be filled, all nine applicants are to be interviewed April 12.
by CNB