Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 21, 1992 TAG: 9202210333
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
USAIR MANAGER SEEKS COUNCIL SEAT
It's not like Delvis "Mac" McCadden needs another job.He already stays busy six days a week, juggling his job as district sales manager for USAir, a broad range of civic and community activities and being father to three children.
But he doesn't stop there. He gets up every Sunday morning and drives 100 miles to Harrisonburg where he is a disc jockey for an oldies music show.
So why was he at a news conference Thursday announcing that he wants to add another duty to that heavy load - a spot on Roanoke's City Council?
Because, he said, he wants to give something back to the city that has been good to him.
McCadden, 42, will seek the Republican Party nomination for one of the three council seats up for election in May.
He said he wants the same thing as all candidates - lower taxes, more jobs and better schools. But the question is how to convey that message to voters, he said.
"The Republican ticket doesn't want to radically change our local government; we want to improve it," McCadden said.
Mayor Noel Taylor and other top GOP officials attended McCadden's news conference at the Roanoke Convention and Visitors Bureau on the City Market. Taylor described McCadden as a friend with an outstanding civic and community service record.
McCadden is a member of the Roanoke Civic Center Commission, the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council and Roanoke Crime Prevention Committee. He is a former teacher, baseball player and umpire.
McCadden said the city has low unemployment, an acceptable tax rate and good schools, but it can be better. More attention needs to be given to the crime problem and tourism, he said.
McCadden said Roanoke should consider a neighborhood policing program similar to one in Greensboro, N.C., where police resource officers, teachers and advisers are assigned to certain areas.
The Roanoke Valley also needs to increase its efforts to attract tourists, he said.
"Stimulating the income sometimes means injecting the income. Our convention and visitors bureau operates on a paltry budget when compared to cities of similar size," he said.
McCadden, who is making his first try for public office, is the third GOP candidate for the council seats. Councilwoman Elizabeth Bowles and Beverly Lambert, a legislative aide to state Del. Steve Agee, R-Salem, announced earlier.
The Republicans will have a mass meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the City Council Chamber to choose their candidates for council and mayor.
Keywords:
POLITICS