Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 8, 1990 TAG: 9005080607
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
At a community meeting in Mason Cove Monday, Cranwell said he told fellow legislators Chip Woodrum and Vic Thomas during this year's session of the General Assembly that consolidation was "a local issue [and] we shouldn't take leadership roles."
But, he said, he didn't mind telling anyone who asked that he would vote against the plan this fall.
"Politically, it would be easier for me to duck and dodge. . . . But I've been asked 15 million times, and I'm going to be asked 15 million more times."
Cranwell would not say afterward why he does not like the plan.
But he told the dozen residents who attended the meeting that they should consider the positive impact consolidation would have on economic development and the negative impact it would have on the quality of government and the delivery of services.
"You have to weigh . . . which of those is most important for you and for the valley as a whole," he said.
The concern he has heard most often - typically from "young mothers" - is how consolidation would affect the county's school system, Cranwell said.
Asked about the plan's chances of passing in the county, he said, "I suspect if you had a vote today it would be close, but it would probably fail."
County Supervisor Steve McGraw, who likes the idea of consolidation but has qualms about this particular plan, said Cranwell "has enough influence to kill it. He's widely respected."
The plan's chances of passing in the county are "real tenuous anyway," especially since Supervisor Harry Nickens came out against it last week, McGraw said.
Cranwell's stand was no surprise to McGraw. "Dick's been opposed to it since I talked to him about it months ago."
Don Terp of the loosely knit Citizens Against Merger, said he was not surprised by Cranwell's stand, either. "I've known Dick's sentiments for quite a while. . . . He's confident he's representing his constituency."
Cranwell even wore an orange ribbon - the symbol adopted by consolidation opponents - at a recent Democratic Party meeting, Terp said.
Cranwell said there was "ample opportunity for progress in the Roanoke Valley short of consolidation." For example, Roanoke and Roanoke County could save money by combining certain services, he said.
The Grayson Commission's proposed legislation could have an impact on consolidation in the Roanoke Valley, too.
Cranwell is one of the key members of the commission, which has been studying ways to end annexation and streamline local governments in Virginia. One of its recommendations, which were tabled until next year, is to encourage cities with populations of less than 125,000 to give up their independence and become part of their surrounding counties. That would raise the possibility of Roanoke and Salem becoming part of Roanoke County.
by CNB