Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 2, 1992 TAG: 9203020234
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The mayoral candidate, don't forget, is himself an eight-year council veteran and a member until fairly recently of City Council's dominant faction, conveniently if simplistically labeled the populist Democrats.
OK, take back City Hall. From whom?
From the Republicans? They haven't had a council majority in years.
From a particular Republican: retiring Mayor Noel Taylor? He's been so popular and approachable you seldom hear a disparaging word, including from Bowers.
From Vice Mayor Howard Musser, whom Bowers defeated for the nomination? But Musser and his ally, Councilman James Harvey, have been the backbone of the populist group with which Bowers earlier was identified. (Musser's petulance after losing the nomination probably has more to do with political jealousy than anything else.)
Well, then, from people such as Councilman Bev Fitzpatrick, the council Democrat most closely identified with the business community and part of the Musser slate at the Democratic mass meeting that nominated Bowers? But this same people-powered meeting gave Fitzpatrick more votes than any other candidate, including Bowers.
(And Councilman and current nominee James Trout, whose long political career has included periods of alliance with business-oriented coalitions, was on the Bowers slate of labor-endorsed candidates!)
OK, how about City Hall bureaucrats? This may be the ticket. Bowers is saying he wants an administration less prone to go its own way against the wishes of council. But wait a minute: Hasn't city manager Bob Herbert been less independent and confrontational with council than his predecessors?
Guess we'll have to make do with the big money boys downtown - that locus of hidden machinations, the grand puppeteers from whom, perhaps, Bowers means to retake City Hall.
Trouble is, we can't specifically recall many instances in which Bowers has gone up against them (whomever they may be), or against their agenda. He did vote at the last minute against tearing down the Hunter Viaduct - but only after sitting in on discussions that led to the agreement with developers.
The likeliest explanation of "taking back City Hall" is that it speaks to voters' grievances, whatever they may be.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB