Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992 TAG: 9201080080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
VINTON FACTOR LENDS OUTSIDER STRENGTH IN BID FOR CONGRESS
Vinton insurance executive Steve Musselwhite formally entered the race for Congress on Tuesday, becoming the first Democrat to seek the seat held by the retiring Rep. Jim Olin.
Steve Musselwhite begins his quest for the Democratic nomination for Congress with three powerful points in his favor - an endorsement by Vinton Del. Richard Cranwell, a crackerjack staff already in place and a resume of business and civic activities he hopes will appeal to independents who don't ordinarily vote Democratic.
Yet for all of his friendships with some of the Virginia's most prominent Democrats, Musselwhite is something of an outsider in what is shaping up as a three-way race for his party's nomination.
The Vinton insurance executive doesn't appear to have any special connection to the groups critical in securing a Democratic nomination - unions, teachers and blacks. "I worked three to four months at Westvaco one time putting in a long-term disability program for the union, so I know the people over there," is the way Musselwhite describes his experience with organized labor.
Nor does Musselwhite have the ties to Democratic regulars that his two likely opponents, Roanoke lawyers John Edwards and John Fishwick, have forged during their stints in various party offices.
"I'm not a typical candidate," Musselwhite said. "I'm not an attorney, I'm a businessman. I'm not a big businessman, I'm a small businessman. I know what it's like to live and die by the bottom line."
These qualities are at once both Musselwhite's strength and his weakness.
Musselwhite is attempting to do what one of his friends, former Gov. Gerald Baliles, did during his 1985 fight for the party nomination - present himself as the Democrat with the most appeal to swing voters, and bring new people into the party to prove it.
That much was evident Tuesday. The crowd of 100 or more people shoehorned into the room at the Holiday Inn-Tanglewood for Musselwhite's announcement included many faces not found at political gatherings.
"I don't recognize half the people here," whispered former Roanoke County Supervisor Lee Garrett.
Another Democrat leaned over and provided a clue: "Vinton."
Musselwhite's hometown friends turned out in force.
"I think Steve's leadership role in the community has a lot to do with that," Cranwell said. He read off a list of 23 community programs Musselwhite has been involved with - state chairman of the American Heart Association, president of the Miss Virginia Pageant and president of the Roanoke County Public Schools' Education Foundation being the most notable.
For six years, Musselwhite also has been Western Virginia's voice on the state Transportation Board, a plum gubernatorial appointment during the 1980s when road-building dominated the state's political agenda.
Although his name may be unfamiliar to many, the position has made Musselwhite a key player in some of the biggest decisions affecting the region:
It was Musselwhite, putting his glad-handing insurance background to work, who orchestrated the 1989 peace plan under which Christiansburg and Montgomery County agreed to back the proposed direct link from Interstate 81 to Blacksburg - a priority project to Roanoke Valley business interests.
It was Musselwhite who helped iron out the technical obstacles so the proposed federal parkway linking the Explore Park to the Blue Ridge Parkway could obtain state matching funds.
And it was Musselwhite who helped deliver the killing blow to the proposed eastern bypass that had hung over Bedford and Roanoke counties for nearly a decade.
Another Democrat on the Transportation Board has gone on to higher office - Lt. Gov. Don Beyer. When Musselwhite called his friend for advice recently, Beyer told him to "run scared and run big." The latter, Musselwhite explains, means whatever you do, do it in a big way.
In that, Musselwhite has gotten off to an impressive start. He's already hired a staff, headed by Susan Swecker, a Highland County native who's one of the state's most respected political operatives.
"She's tough, very savvy," said Roanoke County Supervisor Bob Johnson, a Musselwhite supporter. "His hiring Susan Swecker tells me a lot." Namely, that Musselwhite's top-level connections can help bring some big guns to bear on his behalf. Swecker is considered a specialist in nomination fights, and an expert on the arcane rules that govern such contests. Interestingly, she also went with Musselwhite after first interviewing with Fishwick.
For now, there doesn't appear to be any great ideological divide separating the three potential Democratic candidates.
"It won't turn on issues," Johnson said. "It'll turn on personalities and who you know."
While that would seem to give Edwards and Fishwick the edge with party regulars, Musselwhite supporters believe it's one their man can overcome in the close-quarters campaigning of coffee klatches where convention delegates are wooed.
"He's got charisma out the gazoo," said Roanoke developer Dave "Mudcat" Saunders, who will be raising money for Musselwhite. "He's also got a real strong spiritual side to him. We spend a lot of time talking about God. He's a good boy and it's all going to show."
Candidate Profile\ 6th Congressional district\ Steve Musselwhite\ Announced Tuesday he's seeking the Democratic nomination\ Age: 43\ Occupation: Insurance executive\ Residence: Vinton\ Hometown: Roanoke\ Education: Marshall University\ Political: Member, state Transportation Board since 1985. This is first try for elected office.\ Civic: State chairman, American Heart Association; president, Miss Virginia Pageant.\ Family: Wife, Billie Sue, Three children, ages 19, 18 and 13.\ \ Where he stands\ Excerpts from Steve Musselwhite's announcement\
"I think there are a lot of abuses going on in Washington right now . . . I'm just real stressed out by the fact that we forgive loans, $8 billion dollar loans, to Egypt . . . I don't understand why in the 1992 appropriations there's 140-some million dollars being allocated to Mingo County, West Virginia, for a traffic congestion study . . . Before we talk about tax increases, we need to look at the abuses."
"It's a sad commentary on this great country to think that 27 million Americans now live in poverty. And that figure includes 611,000 here in our state. Of every five schoolchildren in this nation, poverty is the daily lesson for one of them. Can we find an answer for that child? Can we tell them that they also count?"
Keywords:
POLITICS