Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 14, 1993 TAG: 9310130415
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-38 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He signed up for Rotary. The community group had been one constant in a sales career that moved him from state to state over the years.
Brumitt, 64, was looking for other ways to get involved when he spotted an item in Fincastle Herald about an organizational meeting of Botetourt County Republicans.
He showed up with the idea of working as a precinct captain or handing out pamphlets.
One thing led to another, however, and Brumitt now finds himself a candidate for the House of Delegates, squared off against one of the state's most powerful politicians.
House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell is so popular in his home base of eastern Roanoke County and so powerful in Richmond that no one had run against him since 1982, when single-member districts were introduced.
Cranwell, a 51-year-old lawyer, is seeking an 11th full term representing the 14th House District.
The district has changed since Cranwell last was opposed. It is made up of Craig County, most of Roanoke County, six precincts in southern Botetourt County and three precincts in western Bedford County.
Roanoke County - Cranwell's home base - has 55 percent of the district's 31,000 voters.
Cranwell comes into the race with a huge lead in name recognition and 21 years of experience in the House.
His campaign literature emphasizes things, large and small, that the Democrat has done for his constituents over the years:
He got the state to move forward on widening Virginia 24 in Stewartsville and Alternate U.S. 220 from Cloverdale to Bonsack.
He led opposition to a coal slurry pipeline that would have cost the region thousands of railroad jobs.
He was the first elected official to come out against the burning of hazardous waste at a Botetourt County cement plant.
He wrote the law that bans smoking in many restaurants and public buildings.
Republicans have been trying to get someone to run against Cranwell for years. But no one would take the challenge until Brumitt came along.
Brumitt got the idea while volunteering as a driver for Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, in last year's congressional campaign.
"On one of those days, Bob said something about this guy in the House of Delegates that he would like to see someone run against. I talked to other people and found out that nobody likes him."
Republican leaders tried to impress upon Brumitt the difficulty of challenging Cranwell. Brumitt would have no name recognition, no network of friends to rely upon and no personal fortune to fund his campaign.
Many told him not to run.
But Brumitt said he grew more determined after visiting the General Assembly this year to watch Cranwell in action. He came away convinced that Cranwell was rude and arrogant.
Brumitt's campaign slogan is "Ethics, Not Arrogance."
Brumitt has attacked Cranwell on several fronts, most recently on the fact that Cranwell cited the Fifth Amendment in 1990 when called to testify during a federal grand jury investigating his former business partner Frank Selbe, who later was convicted of tax evasion.
Cranwell has said he had nothing to hide in the Selbe investigation, but decided to avoid the grand jury appearance on the advice of his attorney, who feared the Republican-appointed Justice Department would try to build a politically motivated case against him.
Cranwell accused Brumitt of running a negative campaign.
"The strategy is to tear Dick Cranwell down. Not to vote for Bud Brumitt, but to tear down Dick Cranwell," he said.
Democrats say they expect Cranwell to win handily on Nov. 2.
But Cranwell is taking nothing for granted, particularly in a year when the electorate seems to have soured on politicians in general and Democrats in particular.
He has thrown himself into the campaign with the intensity of a quarterback who wants to run up the score. He has put much of his law practice on hold and has been campaigning door-to-door for several weeks.
On a recent afternoon, Cranwell worked the Bali Hai neighborhood in Vinton where he used to live.
Cranwell strode across the lawns with loping strides and greeted everyone with a booming, "How ya doin', boss?"
Everyone seemed happy to see him. Cranwell admired an addition that retiree Hubert Sanders was building on his house; talked football with Bob Semones, the announcer at William Byrd High School games; and tried to snatch Jack Lipscomb's baseball cap so he could rub Lipscomb's bald head.
"Your aren't worried, are you?" asked O.C. Sutphin.
"Everybody says, `What are you worried about?' The only reason I'm worried is that people ask me that question."
Later, Cranwell said his reception has been warm in all parts of the district.
"They thought I was going to sit back and not campaign," Cranwell said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB