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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1994                   TAG: 9401120316
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HARVEY LIMITS SIGHTS TO 2-YEAR RE-ELECTION

By now, Roanoke voters should know Councilman James Harvey and his record on tax cuts and other issues during his 12 years on council.

At least that is what he is counting on as he begins his re-election campaign.

Pointing to the gradual reduction in the city's real-estate tax rate, Harvey said Tuesday he hopes voters will look at his record when they go to the polls in the Democratic primary March 1.

To underscore his point, he held up a brochure from his first campaign, in 1980.

He promised then to press for tax cuts, more money for neighborhood revitalization and the elimination of flooding problems in the Williamson Road neighborhood.

At a news conference to begin his 1994 campaign, Harvey said he has accomplished what he set out to do for voters.

Now, Harvey wants to help ensure completion of the Hotel Roanoke and conference center project, in addition to pushing for more tax cuts if the city can afford them.

The news conference was held in front of the hotel. Excavation work has begun on the project and dump trucks ambled by frequently, drowning out Harvey's words.

Harvey, 53, said he wants to see the hotel reopen in 1995. He is seeking the remaining two years in former Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick's term.

Harvey has lung cancer, but he said that was not the reason he is running for the two-year term instead of a regular four-year term.

"If I didn't feel good, I wouldn't be here today doing what I am," he said.

Harvey had surgery for lung cancer this fall and has received chemotherapy. He said recent X-rays have shown that his lungs are free of cancer.

Harvey will be running against Linda Wyatt, a teacher and former president of the Roanoke Education Association.

\ JAMES HARVEY\ \ AGE: 54.\ \ HOMETOWN: Roanoke.\ \ PROFESSIONAL: Pilot of corporate planes, owner and manager of rental property.\ \ EDUCATION: Jefferson High School, University of Virginia Extension Division.\ \ FAMILY: Single.\ \ CIVIC AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: City Council, 1980-1988, 1990-1994. Vice Mayor, 1984-1986. Chairman of the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center Commission since 1992. Former chairman of the City Fair Housing Board, past president of the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League and the Concerned Citizens and Taxpayers. Former member of the city manager's task forces on the homeless and housing.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB