Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 3, 1992 TAG: 9201030069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BOWERS RUNS FOR MAYOR
Roanoke Councilman David Bowers made it official Thursday: He will run for mayor regardless of whether Noel Taylor, a popular 16-year incumbent, seeks a fifth term.Bowers, a Democrat completing his second term on council, said he will seek his party's nomination for mayor, confirming earlier hints that he would seek the post. Bowers acknowledged that even if he gets his party's endorsement, the odds will be against him if Taylor seeks re-election.
But the Democrats have a duty to provide a debate on the issues and offer voters a choice, regardless of the prospect of victory, Bowers said.
Taylor, a Republican who has been challenged only once since he won his first four-year term in 1976, said Thursday that he still is awaiting the results of medical tests before he decides whether to seek a new term. Taylor has said he wants to be certain he is healthy enough to campaign at the same time he is tending to his duties as mayor and as pastor of High Street Baptist Church.
Bowers, a 39-year-old lawyer, promised to run a positive, grass-roots, people-oriented campaign focusing on issues and the future rather than the record of Taylor and council.
"I have the highest esteem for Noel Taylor. He is a Goliath on the local political scene," Bowers said. "If he chooses to run, I anticipate a positive, spirited campaign. I'm not going to run against the man; I'm running for the office of mayor."
Bowers made his announcement in the lobby of his law office on Church Avenue near the city courthouse. Reporters and television camera men squeezed in front of a podium with a blue-and-white campaign poster that read: "Bowers, Mayor, The Best Is Yet To Come."
Bowers, the son of a Merita Bakery bread man, said he has dreamed of being mayor since he was student government president at Patrick Henry High School two decades ago.
He said he will focus on the unique leadership needs that the city will have in the 1990s.
"The current mayor and council have done a very good job. This year, however, the issue for Roanokers isn't what we have done, but what we are to do," he said.
Bowers acknowledged that he would face an uphill battle if Taylor seeks a new term.
Taylor's supporters have urged him to run, but he has delayed a decision until he gets the final reports from his doctors.
"I need to be sure that I'm ready for this," said Taylor, 67. "It would be physically taxing, I know that."
Taylor, who already often works 16 to 18 hours some days, has hinted that he will seek a new term if his health is satisfactory.
If Taylor retires, Bowers could face a tough fight to win the Democratic nomination. Vice Mayor Howard Musser and Councilman Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. both are potential candidates for the party's nomination - but only if Taylor doesn't run. If the mayor steps aside, Councilman James Harvey said Musser should be the Democrats' candidate.
"Howard would be my choice, but if the mayor doesn't run, it's going to be a wide-open battle" for the Democratic nomination, Harvey said.
Musser said sentiment among Democrats is mixed over running a candidate against Taylor. "I wouldn't vote to nominate anyone to oppose [Taylor], but I can't speak for the party," he said.
Some Democratic leaders have said that it would be futile to try to unseat Taylor because of his popularity. Bowers disagrees.
Some business leaders are urging Fitzpatrick, who is completing his first term as a councilman, to run for mayor if Taylor retires.
"I have that as an option, but I am not saying that I would or would not do it," said Fitzpatrick.
The Rev. Carl Tinsley, chairman of the city Democratic Committee, expects several people to seek the nomination if Taylor retires.
Tinsley said he will remain neutral until the party chooses its nominees for mayor and three other council seats that will be up for election on May 5. Harvey and Musser criticized Tinsley recently for remarks they considered to be favoring Bowers.
The Democrats are expected to choose their candidates at a mass meeting or convention in late February or early March.
Bowers said a recent poll showed that he ranked second to Taylor in name recognition among council members and that he would be the strongest Democratic candidate.
Bowers said Thursday he expects the campaign to focus on such issues as schools, economic development, crime and flood reduction.
Bowers said expects other candidates to spend more money than he will in the campaign, but plans to make up for that by dealing heavily with the issues and being accessible to voters and reporters.
The three council seats up for election in May are held by Bowers, Fitzpatrick and Elizabeth Bowles. Fitzpatrick is expected to seek re-election as a councilman if he doesn't run for mayor. Bowles has not announced her plans.
Keywords:
POLITICS