Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 21, 1992 TAG: 9202210204
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CITY DEMOCRATS ALIGNING
Vice Mayor Howard Musser and Councilman David Bowers are staying neutral, publicly, on the six-way race for the Democratic nomination for three Roanoke City Council seats.The two mayoral candidates want to avoid alienating council candidates, who could pass the word to their supporters to vote against one or the other at Saturday's mass meeting.
Privately, however, some alliances and coalitions are developing.
The nearest thing to a ticket appears to be Councilman Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr., Steve Goodwin and the Rev. J. Eugene Young - all supporters of Musser for mayor.
Fitzpatrick acknowledged there have been private discussions about a slate, but said no decision has been made. "At this point, anything is possible."
Goodwin also confirmed the talks. "Whether that will come together, I don't know at this point," said Goodwin, who making his first try for public office.
"It's a possibility," said Young, pastor of Jerusalem Baptist Church.
Such a ticket would have political and geographical balance and could bolster Musser in the mayor's race.
Fitzpatrick lives in South Roanoke and has strong support in the business community. Goodwin, a Vietnam War veteran, lives off Williamson Road in the Northeast part of the city and has support among veterans. And Young is pastor of an inner-city black church.
Officially, there are no slates because none was filed by last Saturday's deadline. The party's rules for the mass meeting required tickets to be filed ahead of time.
The rules were written to discourage slates because a candidate's name can appear on the ballot only once, either individually or as part of a ticket.
But the lack of official slates doesn't prohibit the mayoral candidates from working behind the scenes with council hopefuls, acting Democratic Chairman George McMillan said. And it doesn't prevent council candidates from working together publicly or privately apart from the mayoral contest.
Sample ballots are expected to be distributed at Saturday's meeting listing unofficial tickets or alliances. This is allowable.
Musser said he was not involved in ticket-making, adding that it was taking all of his time to look after his own campaign.
"I've got about all I can take care of now. I'm trying not to alienate anybody at this point," he said. "I have tried to attend all of the news conferences by the council candidates."
Although Musser has not endorsed any council candidates, he is working closely with Fitzpatrick to get supporters to the meeting. Fitzpatrick has endorsed Musser and urged his supporters to vote for him.
Bowers denied he has made deals with any council candidates to join forces, but he said he has some personal favorites - and that who they are will remain private.
"I know there will be groups handing out sample ballots, but I'm not endorsing any council candidate," Bowers said. "I'm leaving that up to the judgment of the party members."
Some Musser supporters say that Bowers is working closely with Renee Anderson and James Trout. Bowers expects to benefit from Anderson and Trout supporters, but he denies there is an unofficial slate.
"Some blacks will vote for Renee and me. And some working-class people will vote for me and Trout," Bowers said.
Anderson, a former secretary in the city clerk's office, is making her first try for public office. Trout is a former councilman who is trying to make a second political comeback. The sixth Democratic candidate is Ted Key, executive director of the Williamson Road Area Business Association.
Trout said Thursday he is not taking sides in the mayoral contest and has not aligned himself with any other candidates.
"I have known both of the mayoral candidates over a period of years and I can work with either," Trout said. "I am just running my own campaign."
Bowers also expects to pick up votes from some supporters of Fitzpatrick and Goodwin, although both are backing Musser. "Some veterans will support Goodwin and me, and some yuppies will vote for Bev and me," he said. "There are a lot of possible combinations."
Bowers said he hopes Republicans will stay out of the mass meeting and not try to influence the outcome. Some of Bowers' supporters are worried that Republicans and independents might come out to vote for Musser.
Any registered voter may participate in the meeting if they promise they won't support candidates who oppose the Democratic nominees in the May 5 election. Theoretically, Republicans could pack the meeting and affect the outcome, but GOP leaders said they don't expect that to happen.
Because the Democratic Party is open to anyone who wants to join, McMillan said, it is unlikely that anyone would be barred from the meeting unless they are GOP officeholders or other well-known Republicans.
"All you can do is ask people if they won't support any candidates who run against the Democrats. If they say they won't, there really is nothing else you can do," he said.
Virginia does not require voters to register by party, so there is no way for Democratic officials to verify that all who attend are Democrats.
Keywords:
POLITICS