Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030412
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER and Joel Turner
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Democrats spent at least $6,000 in hopes of regaining the Windsor Hills seat, but Republican Lee Eddy swept all six precincts to win a second consecutive term.
The campaign was a rematch of the 1989 race in which Eddy unseated former Supervisor Lee Garrett, a Democrat.
Garrett pinned his comeback hopes on an expensive direct mail pitch that was no match for Eddy's methodical door-to-door campaign.
"Lee knocks on the doors and asks for the damn votes," Roanoke County GOP Chairman Al Thomason said. "People don't want someone to send them a flier through the mail."
Eddy, a self-employed engineer, was helped by favorable Republican winds and the absence of controversial issues in Windsor Hills during the past four years. Eddy kept in touch with constituents through a citizens' council and a monthly newsletter.
"I've tried to respond to constituents' concerns," Eddy said. "I've tried to hold the line on unncessary expenditures."
In the Hollins District, incumbent Democrat Bob Johnson cruised to a majority in a three-way race. Johnson, president of HCMF Real Estate, carried all seven precincts.
"The result at the polls was incredible," he said. "It was very heartfelt."
Republican Brenda Flora Wainwright said Johnson "played good politics." She noted that the county held three ground-breaking ceremonies for new projects, including a long-sought park in Bonsack, in the final weeks of the campaign.
"This kind of thing makes it hard to compete against an incumbent," she said.
Charles Millican, who launched an independent bid after losing the GOP nomination to Wainwright, finished a distant third with less than 9 percent of the vote.
In the Vinton District, Harry Nickens was unopposed in his bid for a fourth full term on the board.
by CNB