Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 9, 1992 TAG: 9202090206
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
`WE HATE TO SEE HIM GO'
THERE IS some anxiety among black Roanokers about what the city will be like for them without a black mayor. Some fear the retirement of Noel Taylor will leave blacks with less of a voice in city affairs. Others insist city race relations have progressed too far.
On July 1, Roanoke will get a new mayor, and unless the field expands beyond its current size, he will be white - a significant change for black residents.
For many young black people, Noel Taylor is the only mayor they've ever known.
The city's first black mayor and councilman may not always vote the way that young and old black residents alike want, or say the things they want to hear. But in the 16-plus years he has been mayor, Taylor has developed a bond with them that transcends politics and daily events.
For many, there is a feeling that even if he can't always solve their problems, he understands their concerns - especially the discrimination they sometimes endure.
Taylor has known what it is like to ride at the back of the buses and be denied a seat in a restaurant and a bed in a hotel. Many public facilities, including the restrooms in the old Courthouse and Municipal Building, were segregated when he came to Roanoke.
While overt discrimination has been greatly minimized by federal and state laws, some blacks say there still is discrimination in housing, employment and other areas.
Some black leaders are apprehensive about what will happen when Taylor leaves. Some fear his retirement could mean that the concerns and problems in the black community might get less attention.
But others disagree, saying the city has come too far in race relations to allow one person - even someone as influential as Taylor - to make that big a difference.
"Yes, I'm sure there is some anxiety," said Evangeline Jeffrey, president of the Roanoke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"The mayor has interfaced with both [the black and white] communities. He understands minority issues and he has access to both communities."
While Taylor has not been as aggressive and outspoken on racial issues as some blacks would have preferred, she said, most black voters feel that he understands their concerns.
Taylor's departure may put more pressure on Councilman William White and other blacks who might be elected to council in May to give closer attention to racial issues, she said.
White said Taylor's retirement is a loss for the entire city, but he is confident that issues affecting black Roanokers will be addressed after Taylor leaves. He says he'll see to that himself.
"I'm going to stay in touch with the entire city, and especially with the black community, and if there are issues not being addressed, I will bring them up," White said.
White said Taylor's unique ability to bring people together and be a peacemaker can't be replaced, but other council members can help ensure that blacks' concerns are dealt with.
Wendell Butler, a former vice mayor and former School Board chairman, said he, too, is not worried about Taylor's departure or that issues important to the black community will be overlooked.
"We hate to see him go, but I think he has paved the way for us, as far as race relations are concerned," said Butler, a close friend of the mayor's.
Taylor's immense popularity and support that crosses political and racial lines has helped create an environment in which black issues can be addressed without polarizing voters, Butler said.
Butler said his own election to City Council in 1980 and White's victory in 1990 show that black candidates can win in a city that is 24 percent black.
Lawrence Hamlar, president of Hamlar-Curtis Funeral Home, said he also expects race relations to remain good after Taylor leaves.
"I think that the people in the city see the positive effects of good race relations. And I think that we will continue to progress in that vein," Hamlar said.
Black voters have supported Taylor, although some wish he had been more vocal on some racial issues, said the Rev. Carl Tinsley, chairman of the city Democratic Committee.
Some people feel that he should have spoken out earlier on the police issue, especially on the relationship between police and blacks and on the small number of black officers on the force, Tinsley said.
When police relations with the black community became volatile in the summer of 1990, Taylor called for the appointment of a citizens' task force to study the issue. Last fall, he publicly urged city officials to speed up the hiring of more black officers.
Tinsley, the first black chairman of a political party in the city, said he sometimes has defended Taylor against critics who charge that he hasn't done enough for blacks.
"I have explained to them that he's mayor of the entire city, not just the mayor of black people," Tinsley said. Taylor has often worked behind the scenes on racial issues, he said.
Vice Mayor Howard Musser and Councilman David Bowers, the two announced Democratic candidates for mayor, are trying to win the support of black leaders and voters.
Taylor, a Republican, attended the news conference at which Musser announced he was running for mayor. Taylor praised Musser, but has not endorsed anyone.
Bowers said there is no need for black residents to worry about whether their concerns will be addressed. He predicted that White will emerge as a leading spokesman for black residents after Taylor retires.
Bowers also pointed to his own record of support for black concerns: He cited his backing for continued funding for the Gainsboro neighborhood revitalization project and a ban on discrimination by private clubs.
Some black leaders have not committed themselves on the election, saying they want to wait to see how the mayoral race shapes up.
"I'm uncommitted. It is hard to make a choice now," Butler said.
"I'm still sizing them up and waiting to see if more people get into the race," Jeffrey said. The NAACP does not endorse candidates.
As Democratic chairman, Tinsley said he will remain neutral until the party chooses its candidate for mayor. Some Democrats interpreted earlier comments by Tinsley to mean that he favors Bowers, but he denied that.
The Republican Party doesn't have an announced candidate for mayor, but Willis Anderson, a former mayor, is considering running.
Two black candidates may end up being among those running for three council seats in the May election, and they could benefit from Taylor's retirement. Black voters may support them to help ensure that there will be a second black council member to join White.
Democrat Renee Anderson, a former executive secretary in the city clerk's office, is trying to become the first black woman on council. Delvis "Mac" McCadden, a district sales manager for USAir, is considering seeking the Republican nomination for one of the council seats.
Taylor's retirement also may increase the political pressure for some type of modified-ward system to replace the city's at-large election system. In a modified-ward system, some council members are selected by districts or wards and the rest are chosen at large.
Should White leave council when his terms ends in 1994 and should no other blacks be elected this year, Tinsley said, council will be left without a black member.
"That's why we need a ward or modified ward system," Tinsley said.
Jeffrey said she, too, thinks Taylor's departure will produce stronger sentiment for an election system with wards to help ensure that black issues are addressed.
But Hamlar said he hopes the city doesn't switch to a ward or modified-ward system because it would tend to perpetuate racial divisions.
"It pits one group against the other and that's what we should try to avoid."