Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 27, 1994 TAG: 9404270093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
John Edwards says Roanoke must grow. But he says Roanoke still can stay Roanoke even as it grows.
``We wouldn't want to lose our sense of community,'' Edwards says. ``We wouldn't want to have big companies come in and change our lifestyle. We want to grow as we are - but more so.''
The Roanoke City Council candidate says Roanokers should not try to pattern the city's growth after other cities. He says Roanoke's growth should come from the ground up, not from the outside.
Edwards, a lawyer and former Democratic congressional candidate, was appointed to City Council last fall to fill the unexpired term of Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr., who resigned.
There are two more years remaining in Fitzpatrick's term, but Edwards is running for one of three four-year terms on council. Linda Wyatt and John Voit are competing in a special election for the remaining two-year term.
The economy is the driving issue behind Edwards' campaign, but that takes in a lot of other issues. He says that true economic growth can come only when a city builds an ``infrastructure'' that weaves together good education and transportation systems and what he calls ``qualitative life resources.''
Edwards supports the movement to develop a four-year college in Roanoke, by forging closer ties between Virginia Tech and Virginia Western Community College and other advanced educational programs in the Roanoke Valley.
He says that putting I-66 and I-73 near Roanoke also would be a boost. ``You've got to be on an artery of transportation.''
Also, he says, the city must continue to support cultural assets such as Center in the Square, the Explore project, Festival in the Park and sporting events.
Developing this sort of infrastructure helps build the economy from the grass roots, Edwards says.
In the past, Roanoke depended on one big employer - Norfolk and Western Railway - to drive its economy.
``Roanoke is Roanoke because of the railroad. It was a one-horse town for so many years.'' He said people now realize, however, that ``we can't depend on the railroad to provide the growth and prosperity that we want.''
The city should work to help home-grown companies expand, Edwards says.
As for the city government, he doesn't expect to push for any big changes. ``I can't think of any major restructuring'' that's needed in the way the city is run. ``I'm still learning. I'm learning something every day about city government.''
Because a council member cannot be an expert on everything, Edwards says, ``I have to rely heavily on what the staff says. They seem like they've done a good job.''
Still, ``I'm certainly not complacent. I think we've got a lot of serious problems'' - including the lack of ``upwardly mobile opportunities'' for jobs in the local economy.
On other issues, Edwards:
Favors a ``modified ward'' system of electing City Council members. He'd like to see four or five members elected from specific districts and two or three elected at-large.
Believes the city has been fair to the Gainsboro neighborhood in its plan to build roads through historic areas. ``The city made efforts to work with the neighborhood. That's my understanding.''
Would like to see City Council find ways to provide more openness. One way, he says, would be to hold some of its meetings in neighborhoods throughout the city.
Keywords:
PROFILE POLITICS
by CNB