Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 16, 1993 TAG: 9309160020
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES and JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Bev Fitzpatrick has a new job. Now what?
For months, Roanoke Valley business and political leaders had been wondering privately what Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. - Roanoke's vice mayor and Dominion Bankshares Corp.'s former vice president for economic development - would do once First Union Corp. decided he wasn't needed.
There was talk of a job running Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center. There was speculation he would staff the state's new economic development office. And there was prolonged speculation he would help Carilion Health System President Thomas Robertson - also chairman of the Roanoke Valley Business Council - tackle a strategic vision process for the Roanoke and New River valleys.
Robertson prevailed, offering Fitzpatrick a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to help the region reach "the next plateau of opportunity," Fitzpatrick said Wednesday.
The biggest casualty: Fitzpatrick's Roanoke City Council seat. The vice mayor said he will resign, effective Oct. 15, to allay fears that his seat on council could impair his ability to direct the regional process.
Council will name Fitzpatrick's successor, who will occupy the seat until a special election in May.
"From this day forward, my focus must be on the region, not on any one jurisdiction within it," he said, evidently fighting back tears to read a prepared statement. "Frankly, this effort is too important to have even the appearance of any conflict of representation."
Robertson said Fitzpatrick's "decision regarding council was his alone. It was not a condition of the job."
The Business Council under Robertson and Virginia Tech joined forces this summer with chambers of commerce in the Roanoke and New River valleys to craft a strategic vision for the region. The group, dubbed The New Century Council, will pay a Florida consultant $25,000 to help "facilitate" an Oct. 12 retreat for 125 community leaders at Mountain Lake Hotel in Giles County.
Tech's public service division is seeking $200,000 from the state Department of Economic Development to help fund the effort, said Charles Steger, Tech's vice president for development. Robertson said Fitzpatrick's salary and other expenses will be underwritten by "less than 10" businesses and individuals he declined to identify.
"There's no godfather funding it," he said, dismissing suggestions that a few key corporate players had committed large sums to the effort.
Fitzpatrick's term as director of The New Century Council may last only 18 months, suggesting that Fitzpatrick is prepared to pay a high price - surrendering his council seat - to head a process he concedes is "fuzzy."
Indeed, Fitzpatrick said he accepted Robertson's offer despite a second "secure" job from a "major company in Roanoke" he would not identify. Fitzpatrick left his job with Dominion on June 30.
"To give up council was very, very, very difficult for him," said his wife, Shirley. "He was shook last night while we talked about it. He's torn, but he's got to make a living, get an income.
"You don't know how many times I've hollered, `Why can't you get a real job instead of create one,' " she said.
Fitzpatrick's decision to resign from council likely will be considered a mixed blessing by valley business interests, who have long regarded Fitzpatrick as their staunchest ally on City Council.
The vacancy, coupled with the health problems of council members James Harvey and Howard Musser, further muddies the political future of council and Mayor David Bowers.
Fitzpatrick's resignation means four of the seven council seats will be up for election in May. The seats include those now held by Democrats Harvey, Musser and Councilman William White, a close Bowers ally who already has voiced plans to seek re-election.
But the political futures of Harvey and Musser are in doubt. Harvey, 53, is battling lung cancer, while the 63-year-old Musser - a close political ally and friend - is recovering from a stroke. Both have long struggled with Bowers, whose brash political style clashes with their quieter, behind-the-scenes manner.
Bowers, meanwhile, has chafed under Fitzpatrick's evident popularity with the voters, business leaders and state officials. Last month, the rivalry broke into the open: After Fitzpatrick announced his opposition to city hall's possible acquisition of the Roanoke Gas Co., Bowers denounced the vice mayor for allegedly breaking his word, and implied that Fitzpatrick was shirking his duty to city voters.
Now, Fitzpatrick is stepping aside to head an effort Bowers has criticized for its reluctance to fully involve the region's political leadership. Wednesday, Robertson revised earlier statements regarding the participation of political leaders. He said the chief elected officers of each locality would be invited to participate.
What could all this mean?
Next May, four council seats - a majority - will be filled by city voters, producing an almost unparalleled opportunity to shift the balance of power. Competing camps likely could form around Bowers, a self-styled populist Democrat, and business leaders.
Fitzpatrick's absence could give Bowers the chance to forge a solid majority on council. Bowers' attack on Fitzpatrick during the Roanoke Gas flap and his renewed focus on government consolidation with Roanoke County has strained relations with business leaders, who say privately they detect renewed anti-business rhetoric coming from the mayor's office.
by CNB