
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 2, 1993                   TAG: 9310020168
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BOWERS, OTHER MAYORS CONSIDER JOINING TO PUSH CITIES' INTERESTS

If Virginia's cities want more state aid to address their economic and social problems, they must make sure voters understand their plight.

Otherwise, the General Assembly is unlikely to provide help, Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said Friday.

That's why Bowers and the mayors of Norfolk and Richmond have agreed to develop a campaign to make the state's voters more aware of the financial and social pressures on the state's core cities.

"We need to make sure that citizens understand our problems and the pressures we are facing," Bowers said.

Bowers met Friday with Richmond Mayor Walter Kenney and Norfolk Mayor Mason Andrews to consider the creation of a coalition of the state's larger cities to press for changes in local government structure or more state aid.

The mayors will meet again, probably at the Virginia Municipal League's conference in Richmond this month.

"Almost anything that we can do involves the General Assembly, and we need to make sure voters understand the issues," Bowers said.

Some Roanoke officials want the legislature to restore the power of annexation for larger cities.

Councilman James Harvey wants Roanoke to mount a campaign to persuade the General Assembly to lift the ban on annexation.

If it becomes necessary, the city should be willing to go to court to force the legislature to lift the ban or provide more money for cities, he said.

by CNB