Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 18, 1992 TAG: 9202180295
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CANDIDATES PLEDGE TO SEEK BLACK ADVICE
Roanoke Vice Mayor Howard Musser and Councilman David Bowers agree on one thing:The concerns of the city's black community will still be heard after Mayor Noel Taylor and Assistant City Manager Earl Reynolds leave city government.
That was the message given to a black ministers' group Monday by Musser and Bowers as they began the final week of campaigning for the Democratic nomination for mayor.
"I want to assure you that the voice of the black community won't die out," Musser told the Baptist Ministers Conference. "The black community needs to be heard and it will continue to be heard . . . ."
Taylor is retiring and Reynolds has resigned to become Martinsville city manager.
Bowers pointed to his work for the black community in pushing for completion of Gainsboro neighborhood redevelopment and other projects important to black voters.
The ministers' group, which has about 60 members, does not endorse political candidates as a group.
Black voters are crucial to both candidates' campaigns because they could hold the decisive votes at Saturday's mass meeting. About 25 percent of the city's voters are black.
Several ministers at Monday's meeting said they haven't decided who they will support. But both candidates have been buoyed by the support of key black leaders.
Taylor, a Republican and a member of the ministers' conference, invited Musser to his church Sunday and praised him, although he hasn't formally endorsed anyone.
Councilman William White is supporting Bowers, saying that Bowers has good support in the black community because he has regularly kept in touch with black leaders.
Musser said he also feels good about his support in the black community. He urged black voters to look at his record and his ability to work with the business community to create more jobs.
Some key black leaders haven't taken sides in the battle for the mayoral nomination.
Wendell Butler, a former vice mayor, said he is uncommitted and probably will remain neutral until the mass meeting.
"It's a hard decision because I know both of them well and I consider them to be friends," Butler said.
Evangeline Jeffrey, president of the Roanoke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she also hasn't committed to either candidate.
Keywords:
POLITICS