Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 24, 1994 TAG: 9404260027
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They flunk.
In all, seven candidates are vying for four open seats. Yet of the two most problematic candidates, one is virtually guaranteed election. That's because they are competing separately for, in effect, a one-time-only "slotted" seat.
Meanwhile, two of the five strongest candidates, vying as a group for the three other seats, are guaranteed to lose.
The situation arises because Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. resigned from council last fall. Running for the two years remaining in his term are Democrat Linda Wyatt and Republican John Voit. The difficulty in this race is recommending the election of either.
The difficulty among the other five candidates - Democrats William White, John Edwards and Nelson Harris, and Republicans John Parrott and Barbara Duerk - is narrowing the recommendations to only three. All five aspirants for the three seats have much going for them.
After some struggle, we can recommend votes for three candidates:
Judging from his first four years on council, William White - the only full-fledged incumbent in the race - is a valuable asset in city government, and should be re-elected to a second term.
As he did on the School Board before his election to council in 1990, White has brought his accounting expertise to bear on his public service, acting as a check on the financial work of the city's hired managers and as an adviser for other council members when dealing with fiscal matters.
At the same time, however, White has not attempted to micromanage the city or to undermine the ability of the city's paid professionals to do their jobs. When he asks a question, it's to get information, not to strike a pose.
White does strike balances, though, and they're usually thoughtful ones. Regarding labor and the Hotel Roanoke project, for example, he is credited with pushing to widen the pool of bidders to include more small, local and/or minority-owned firms. But beyond a point, he observes, it's up to the firms themselves to develop and submit winnable bids.
White's stated No. 1 goal for the next four years is an excellent one: to reduce the number of young people who, having given up, do not value their own and others' lives.
As with White, John "Jack" Parrott would bring to council a useful occupational background. In Parrott's case, it is as a construction engineer. Parrott's experience in municipal government includes membership on the city Planning Commission in the '70s and '80s, and his longtime chairmanship of the regional landfill board (soon to be succeeded by the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority).
The landfill-board experience is particularly important, because solid-waste disposal is one area of success for inter-governmental cooperation in the valley. Trust among local officials is sorely needed if other cooperative ventures are to bloom.
Appointed to council a few months ago after Fitzpatrick's resignation, John Edwards is now seeking election in his own right. Edwards, a thoughtful lawyer and former U.S. attorney, should get a chance to show what he can do in a full term.
Among his assets is his evident strength as a unifier: In the Democratic primary, he led the ticket, doing well in all sections of the city.
\ Still left in the five-person race for three seats are two candidates who also could add much to council and who in other years with weaker fields likely would have won our recommendation.
Barbara Duerk, a neighborhood activist and enthusiastic member of the Planning Commission, offers good ideas about strengthening the city's neighborhoods and promoting its livability. Council ought to consider these ideas - including bike paths and the Roanoke River's potential as a centerpiece attraction in the city - whether or not she wins a seat this year. Her energy might also light a fire or two under the municipal bureaucracy.
Nelson Harris is a bright new star on the political scene. At 29, the youngest candidate, he is nonetheless poised, articulate and experienced in civic affairs. As a member of the School Board he saw the need and pushed for more school nurses. During the campaign, he has shown as good a grasp of the issues - above all, the problems of child poverty - as anyone in the race.
Would that this Baptist minister were instead in the race for the two-year seat, where he'd be the obvious choice.
Because he isn't, we're left to suggest that he has a long and promising career of public service before him. Harris could make important contributions for another two years on the School Board, then run for council when other seats open up.
Let's hope they open up for a long time to come under an at-large system, in which citizens can choose the best of all the candidates running. Dividing the races, as has happened this year - and as a ward system, for example, would institutionalize - can unhelpfully restrict voters' choices.
Keywords:
POLITICS ENDORSEMENT
by CNB