Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 3, 1993 TAG: 9310050310
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By Brian Kelley staff writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The 12th District House of Delegates race pits Blacksburg Democrat and veterinarian Jim Shuler, 49, against Christiansburg Republican and Federal Express driver Nick Rush, 25. The two are vying to replace Del. Joan Munford, D-Blacksburg, who is retiring.
On paper, they seem to talk the same game: more jobs and economi development for the New River Valley, more efficient government and a strong voice for an area that's politically dwarfed by Northern Virginia and its suburban kin in the Richmond and Tidewater areas.
Rush and Shuler present a study in contrasts: where Shuler sees a largely efficient state government that needs fine-tuning, Rush sees a poorly run bureaucracy that's costing this region jobs and needs a sound dose of ``Republican philosophy.''
It's a veteran small businessman who wants to improve the Democratic-controlled status quo versus a blue-collar Republican who seeks to shake it up.
Aside from the obvious difference in age , the candidates even talk differently: Shuler speaks slowly and quietly as he explains his ideas; Rush takes a more aggressive tack, pointing out differences in their positions and implying that Shuler is copying his campaign techniques. He also speaks in well-formed, if familiar, soundbites on his campaign themes.
The winner will represent the 70 percent of Montgomery County's registered voters who live in the precincts north of Interstate 81 and east of Radford,\ including Blacksburg and part of Christiansburg, and voters in eastern Giles\ County. It's a district that Republicans say the General Assembly\ gerrymandered in 1991 by moving traditionally Republican precincts in eastern Montgomery - with some 8,000 registered voters - into the adjacent 8th District. Munford won handily in 1991 with 57 percent of the vote in a contest that drew 85 percent of registered voters.
But if the 12th District is supposed to be a sure thing for the Democrats, neither candidate is acting like it.
Both have campaigned door to door, met with civic groups, shaken hands at local festivals and are gearing up for a series of debates as the contest enters its final four weeks.
Rush seems to be winning the sign war: one can't drive from Blacksburg to Christiansburg without seeing his smiling image several times. Shuler, though, has hit the ground running with radio advertising, including ads during a recent Virginia Tech football broadcast. Updated campaign finance reports are due Oct. 15; reports from mid-summer showed that spending and fund-raising had only begun.
Rush is the fast-track politician who upset a two-term incumbent to win a seat on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors two years ago. Shuler, a former Blacksburg Town Council and state Board of Health member, is a longtime family friend of Munford and worked for her seven campaigns over 12 years. She endorsed his candidacy when he announced in April; his potential Democratic\ challengers all folded their cards within weeks.
Each comes with a strong hometown constituency - Rush graduated from Christiansburg High School and his mother still teaches there; Shuler is a Virginia Tech graduate and has been in business in Blacksburg for 20 years - but each will also have to reach out to the other's turf to try to pull in enough votes to win. Blacksburg has some 10,000 registered voters, Christiansburg has approximately 7,200, according to the registrar's office.
``They've got their job laid out for them,'' said
Pat Cupp, a Blacksburg real estate broker who narrowly lost a bid for the GOP nomination to Rush last spring. The key for Rush, Cupp believes, is swaying the significant numbers of undecided voters and independents in traditionally Democratic Blacksburg. The way to do it is with legwork.
``People warm up to Nick,'' said Libby Beamer, a longtime GOP activist in Montgomery. ``Door-to-door is the key to campaigning ... it makes a difference to see a candidate.''
Montgomery County GOP Chairman George Alder noted that there's often a difference in the way Blacksburg and Christiansburg residents see things, not to mention how they vote. ``I think Blacksburg's going to be surprised,'' Alder said.
Lindsay West, county Democratic chairwoman, said Shuler has many personal contacts in both towns and the rural portions of Montgomery through his work as a small-animal doctor. That, combined with his door-to-door work and the major differences in age and background, are pluses for the Democrat. ``It hink things are coming together very well,'' West said.
Munford sees a continuity between her support for issues affecting children and the elderly, and Shuler's beliefs. ``He's a very caring person,'' Munford said. Shuler ``will vote pretty close to the way I've voted on the tough issues. That gives me a lot of comfort.''
Montgomery Supervisor Jim Moore recalled that Shuler was generally quiet while he served on the Town Council during the 1980s. But ``when Jim Shuler spoke up, you knew you probably ought to listen,'' Moore, a Democrat, said.
Rush, Moore also said, has worked hard during his two years on the Board of Supervisors, acting in a bipartisan manner on projects such as including computer automation on the library bond referendum.
Rush points to his first moments on the Board of Supervisors, when he led a movement that resulted in a Democratic board chairman and Republican vice-chairman, as a start that got the board off on a good footing and has led to what he described as a unified, productive two years.
``We need that leadership at the state level,'' he said.
He also pointed to his battle against the proposed ``smart'' road linking Blacksburg and Interstate 81, his work to bring a recreational area to the Lafayette-Elliston area and the board's work with Blacksburg to build a new elementary school for the town as examples of his leadership on the board.
Shuler highlighted his work on council, his appointment to the health board and his status as a Democrat as advantages that would help him represent the 12th District. ``Being a member of the majority party at this point is the best bet going,'' Shuler said.
Shuler grew up on a dairy farm in a rural area near Harrisonburg. His undergraduate degree came from Virginia Tech and his veterinary degree is from the University of Georgia. He worked in Northern Virginia three years before moving back to Blacksburg. He and his wife, Margaret, have two grown children, Laurel, a Georgetown University senior, and Marshall, a University of Virginia second-year student.
Rush's 1991 campaign workers included his father, mother, wife and other family. He's worked for Federal Express for four years, starting soon after leaving active duty in 1989. He remains in the Army Reserve. He and his wife, Amy, have two sons: Cody, 4, and Forest, 1. Amy Rush operates a dance studio in Christiansburg.
Both men speak optimistically of the role they could play as a delegate. ``A freshman delegate can be but so effectual. ... [but] I can certainly stand up very well for the rights of Southwest Virginia and the 12th District,'' Shuler said.
``We need someone who's aggressive and who's going to want to go speak for us,'' Rush said. ``I've proven I can work with people.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB