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

DATE: TUESDAY, February 22, 1994                   TAG: 9402220184
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CANDIDATES WON'T DEBATE BEFORE PRIMARY

Four of the six candidates have declined invitations to appear tonight at a public forum sponsored by the Progressive Democratic Coalition.

The Democrats who declined cited prior engagements, but several acknowledged that they had no desire to rearrange their schedules to accommodate the Progressive Democratic Coalition.

Councilman Jim Harvey said tonight's forum had the makings of an ambush, because the coalition has endorsed his opponent.

"It would be a no-win situation for me," Harvey said.

The collapse of tonight's forum means that the primary campaign will lack a joint public appearance by the candidates. The winners will represent the Democratic Party in the May 3 City Council elections.

Roanoke Democratic Chairman Al Wilson insisted Monday that the primary was an open process, despite the lack of public debate between candidates.

"It is open to all the voters," he said.

Sam Garrison, a Roanoke attorney who tried to organize tonight's forum on behalf of the Progressive Democratic Coalition, said Democratic voters have been cheated by the lack of open discussion and debate.

"The candidates have done most of their campaign by mailing out brochures. You can't question a brochure," he said.

The forum's collapse is the lastest evidence of a split between the city's Democratic leadership and a liberal faction demanding a stronger voice in party decisions.

The Progressive Democratic Coalition grew out of the frustrations of several core Democratic constituencies: labor, teachers, Gainsboro residents and homosexuals.

In recent years, the coalition has demonstrated its power within the Democratic Party by helping Mayor David Bowers and Commissioner of Revenue Marsha Compton Fielder win nomination battles against candidates anointed by the party leadership.

In November, Democratic regulars sought to dilute the coalition's power by choosing a primary election to select the party's slate of City Council candidates.

In December, coalition leaders sought to elect Garrison as party chairman. He lost, as party regulars turned out in huge numbers to elect Wilson, an attorney who leases space in Bowers' law office.

Coalition leaders see the primary as a chance to test support for their agenda.

"We may end up having more influence with the voters, the electorate, than with the leaders of our own party," said Gary Waldo, regional director of the Virginia Education Association and an organizer of the Progressive Democratic Coalition.

Last month, the coalition sent a questionnaire to candidates in the Democratic primary asking if they would:

Support collective bargaining for public employees.

Support giving police officers sensitivity training for dealing with gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

Keep a four-lane Second Street from "destroying" the Gainsboro neighborhood.

Support raising city taxes to increase funding to public schools.

Wilson said candidates declined to fill out the survey because the coalition's agenda "doesn't reflect the mainstream of the Democratic Party."

That comment drew laughter from Waldo.

"Outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party?" Waldo said. " . . . I think he [Wilson] is outside the mainstream."

Garrison said the coalition is aligned philosophically with the national Democratic Party.

The Progressive Democratic Coalition has pinned its hopes in the primary on one candidate: Linda Wyatt, a second-grade teacher who has long lobbied on behalf of the Roanoke Education Association for higher teacher salaries.

Wyatt and Harvey, a veteran member of City Council, are battling for a chance to represent the Democratic Party in a special election for a two-year council term.

The winner will oppose Republican John Voit in the May 3 general election.

The Progressive Democratic Coalition has not endorsed anyone in the four-way primary race for three spots on the general election ballot. The candidates are incumbent councilmen Bill White and John Edwards, former Councilman Jim Trout and School Board member Nelson Harris.

The winners will face Republicans Jack Parrott and Barbara Duerk in the general election.

Keywords:
POLITICS