Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 22, 1992 TAG: 9203200052
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Since the day I filed for candidacy [for the Blacksburg Town Council], I have been labeled a "student candidate" despite taking pains to address student concerns within the context of the entire community. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify things.
At a very basic level, I do want to provide a voice for students on issues that primarily affect students. There have been plenty of instances where students' stake in town policies (such as the meals tax increase) were not considered. But these are just a few issues within a much bigger picture.
Think about the problems facing Blacksburg: a mass exodus of the community's most talented people, anemic growth and a shrinking standard of living, a very real threat of unmanaged development overrunning the town, the risk of destroying our environment, huge numbers of unemployed (and underemployed) people despite being one of the most educated communities in the state, and a systematic lack of long-term (20-plus years) economic planning, which is in part the cause of the current budget crisis.
There is a common element to all of these problems that I hope to address in my campaign and that I hope will motivate the incumbents to recognize and respond to these problems.
That is my campaign in a nutshell. The goal: to get creative; to invent new ways for local government to act as a catalyst in promoting growth balanced with preservation; and to innovate new ways to allow you to actively participate in government.
Label me if you must, but I would prefer the label of "ideas candidate." It is in this spirit that I am running for Town Council.\ Brian McConnell\ Candidate\ Blacksburg Town Council
by CNB