Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 11, 1993 TAG: 9306110294
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Roanoke City Councilman Howard Musser once seemed destined to become mayor of Roanoke.
The voters liked him. Each time he ran for City Council since 1982, he led in the voting. He served as vice mayor three times.
He had a broad base of support, from protesting taxpayers to business leaders. His quiet, studious style was effective. Few people had complaints about him.
Not any more.
Musser, backed by organized labor in some of his council races, raised the unions' ire when he refused to endorse David Bowers for mayor last year. Bowers had beaten him in a bitter battle for the Democratic Party's nomination for mayor.
Now Musser has left Bowers and most of his old allies in the Democratic Party behind, choosing to run for commissioner of revenue as an independent. He'll be up against Democrat Marsha Compton Fielder.
He might have little to lose. City party Chairman Carl Tinsley doubts Musser could have gotten the Democratic nomination for another term on council.
"I don't see that happening. I just don't think so, knowing how labor feels about him," Tinsley said.
At age 63, a lot is changing in the life of Musser, who's been in the public eye in Roanoke since the late 1960s. His second marriage is ending in divorce. The first ended with the death of his wife six years ago.
Old political friends have become enemies.
But not Jimmy Harvey, who was elected to council in 1980, two years before Musser. They worked together in a taxpayers' group before they won council seats.
"He feels he can be of more service to the city [running for commissioner] rather than staying on council," Harvey said. "He does so much - quietly and behind the scenes - to help prevent controversy. He's always a gentleman regardless of what others say or do."
Bowers says he regrets Musser has chosen to oppose Fielder, although he refuses to criticize him publicly.
But privately, some party leaders are furious with Musser because he is running as an independent after deciding not to seek the Democratic nomination for commissioner. It's still up in the air whether Musser will be ousted from the city's Democratic Committee.
Musser considered seeking the Democratic nomination, but he stepped aside for David Anderson, the deputy city treasurer who ran for the job four years ago.
"I thought [Anderson] should have the chance to run again if he wanted to," Musser said.
But some party leaders say Musser should have sought the Democratic nomination if he wanted the job.
"He held back and wouldn't make a decision on running, just like the mayor's race," said one party official who did not want to be identified.
When Republican Noel Taylor retired as mayor last year, it was widely assumed that Musser would be the Democratic nominee to succeed him.
Musser almost certainly would have been mayor but for his decision not to get into the race before Taylor dropped out. Even Bowers - who didn't wait for Taylor to drop out - has conceded that privately.
Musser is a realist. He knows it's unlikely he'll ever be mayor now.
So he has decided to seek the post he has been interested in more than two decades. He first ran for commissioner of revenue in 1969, and considered running again four years ago if Republican Jerome Howard had retired then.
A retired finance supervisor at the General Electric plant in Salem, Musser said he has the background and experience that are needed to be commissioner.
Musser also threatened to leave the Democratic Party last year and run against Bowers and Republican Wick Anderson, but he concluded he could not win in a three-way race.
Now, he feels he has a better chance of winning in a two-way race with Fielder, who has worked in the Roanoke County commissioner of revenue office for 13 years. He hopes to win the support of Republicans, independents and disaffected Democrats.
Since retiring from General Electric, Musser has been selling real estate, a job he would give up if he becomes commissioner, a full-time post.
Musser said this is a good time for him to leave council because he never intended to serve more than three terms. He will have to resign his council seat by Jan. 1 if he wins in November.
Musser's quiet style would be well suited for the commissioner's post, Harvey said, because he would have to work closely with the city treasurer and other financial officials.
Besides their political alliance, Musser and Harvey share an interest in airplanes and flying. Harvey is a pilot of corporate aircraft. Musser is also a licensed pilot and flies as a hobby.
Harvey and Musser also share an interest in football - the Washington Redskins in particular. They once flew former Mayor Taylor to a Redskins game.
A veteran of the Korean War, Musser is active in veterans' groups and takes a special interest in issues affecting veterans. He helped plan the War Memorial in Lee PLaza.
Musser has two daughters, one of whom lives in Bedford County. The other lives in North Carolina. He has three grandchildren.
Musser's political dilemma stems in part from his admiration and respect for Taylor.
He refused to challenge Taylor because he thought the longtime mayor was doing a good job and he saw no reason to try to oust him.
"If I had run against him and beat him, I think it would have been a disservice to the community," Musser said.
Taylor told Musser privately several weeks ahead of time that he was not going to run because of his health - he is battling prostate cancer - but Musser waited until Taylor made it public.
Musser's backers argued that Bowers, 41, was young and had plenty of time to run for mayor in the future. They argued that it was Musser's turn to run because he was older, had been on council longer and had been the top vote-getter each time he ran.
But Bowers' supporters weren't persuaded.
The year since has been a tough one for Musser.
After losing the mayoral fight, he found himself at the center of a controversy over a 2-for-1 pension plan that gave council members and top city officials two years of retirement credit for each year they had worked.
He got blamed for helping sponsor the plan, although he opposed the pension bonuses for council members.
Musser and council also came under fire by city employees for a controversial pay plan that provided raises of 27 percent for some employees while others received only 3 percent raises.
Next came the news that then-Finance Director Joel Schlanger had charged $1,768 dollars in personal phone calls to the city. The controversy ended with Schlanger's forced resignation.
In the campaign for commissioner, Musser expects he might come under attack for the 2-for-1 pension plan, but he feels he has been unfairly singled out and did nothing wrong.
"I have taken the brunt of a lot of criticism. I think it is unjust, but nevertheless I have taken it," Musser said. "Once people get upset about what you are doing or not doing, it makes you think twice about whether you want to run again."
When he lost the Democratic nomination for mayor, Musser said he would retire from politics when his current term ends June 30, 1994. Musser said he meant it then, but his attitude and circumstances have caused him to change his mind.
Despite the conflict and change in his life in the past year, Musser said he's ready for another political fight.
Keywords:
POLITICS PROFILE
by CNB