Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 30, 1993 TAG: 9309300035
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By DWAYNE YANCEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A conservative-looking "business Democrat" with a long record of community service.
His pitch is that of the classic "resume" campaign, emphasizing his nine years on Salem City Council, his eight years on Salem's Planning Commission before that and 30 years worth of business and community connections.
"I've seen human needs, business needs, municipal needs - not many people go to the legislature with that experience," Packett says. "With my experience and background, I'd stand a better chance of getting some good committee assignments than Morgan [Griffith, the Republican] would. I think I stand a chance of doing a better job quicker. I think it would take Morgan a while to get in the flow of things."
The 61-year-old Packett's political connections are well-advertised. House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County and other key Democrats were at his side when he declared his candidacy last spring.
Packett's business connections are obvious enough, too: He heads The Packett Group ad agency, whose downtown Roanoke address gives him a spacious, second-floor view of Jefferson Street.
"I can sit here and watch who goes to the ABC store," he jokes.
His agency's clients over the years have included some of the most prominent companies in the Roanoke Valley: Shenandoah Life, Grand Piano and Carilion Health System. Packett did so much work for Carilion, in fact, that in the 1980s the hospital chain bought the agency - only to sell it back a few years ago to avoid questions about a nonprofit hospital group owning a for-profit company.
Packett contends that his experience with Carilion gives him special insight into health-care issues - although that's not the way the major hospital located in his district sees it at all.
The employees' political action committee at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem has made a big show of backing Griffith, an endorsement Packett blames on rivalries between the for-profit Lewis-Gale and the nonprofit Carilion.
Packett says his ad agency experience also gives him special insight into economic development issues, especially tourism.
"Back in the '60s, we were the first agency [in Virginia] that ever handled a city's tourism/travel account," he says. For five years, Packett helped Virginia Beach put together its tourism ad strategy.
Packett frequently contrasts his occupation with that of his opponent, arguing that the General Assembly needs more business leaders and fewer lawyers.
But Packett also says that, as an ad man, he must think creatively - and will help the region come up with creative solutions to its economic problems.
As chairman of the Fifth District Planning Commission, a research body that covers the Roanoke Valley, Packett has tried to call attention to the region's potential as a fiber-optic capital. "The state Department of Economic Development says, `You find yourself a niche, we'll push it,'" Packett says. "Somebody's got to find that niche."
He thinks fiber-optics could be it.
But he readily admits that people often laugh at two other ideas he's pushing: Packett wants to increase tourism by setting up a low-band radio transmitter to advertise the region to travelers along Interstate 81. And he says part of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant should be converted into a fireworks factory.
"You have to be able to look at things differently," he says.
Voters may laugh at his campaign gimmick, as well: The bald Packett hands out combs with his name on them.
The shiny pate may be Packett's most memorable characteristic, but it hasn't always been a laughing matter. It's the result of an unusual metabolic condition that first hit 10 years ago.
"In 45 days, all my hair fell out," Packett says. "It was probably the most traumatic thing I've ever been through. I'd got to parties and people thought I'd been through chemotherapy. They'd shy away from me. When you completely change at 51, and people don't know who you are, it's very traumatic. It's like having a major disease, except you're healthy."
Nowadays, Packett says he's adjusted - although he's quick to correct people who think he's hairless because he shaves his head. "People think someone who shaves his head is strange - I don't like that inference."
by CNB