Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Claude Whitehead, a former chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, said Wednesday that "it looks like a pretty strong possibility" that he will seek his party's nomination to run against Dudley.
Whitehead, 56, said he plans to make a formal announcement in a week to 10 days.
Whitehead sought the Democratic nomination for the 5th District congressional seat in 1988, but lost to L.F. Payne, who went on to win the election and still holds the seat.
Dudley's General Assembly seat has been targeted by Democrats this year as they battle to keep majorities in the House and Senate. Dudley, who recently completed his first term in the legislature, upset Democrat Wes Naff in 1993 by fewer than 200 votes.
Democrats had held that seat for close to 25 years.
But four possible candidates from Franklin County - which has more than half of the district's voters - have turned down opportunities to challenge Dudley.
State Democratic leaders, including House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County, tried for months to persuade Franklin County Sheriff's Capt. Billy Overton to run. Overton, son of longtime Franklin County Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton, was seen as the front-runner for the nomination.
After weeks of indecision, Overton chose not to run because of financial considerations.
Before Overton dropped out of contention, the district's former delegate, Willard Finney, and Franklin County's Democratic Party chairman, Eric Ferguson, also pulled their names from consideration.
Last week, another interested candidate, Franklin County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gus Forry, also decided against a run.
Forry's concerns were similar to Overton's.
"It doesn't make much sense to me that you've got to raise $60,000 to run for an $18,000 job," he said.
Forry, who is retiring from Rocky Mount's Standard Register Co. in June, said state party leaders would not make a financial commitment to him.
"So I'm going to run again for the Board of Supervisors," he said.
Political insiders in Franklin County said the Democratic Party has stepped up efforts in recent weeks to find a qualified candidate to challenge Dudley. Those efforts included phone calls by Lt. Gov. Don Beyer.
Gary Furrow, vice chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party, would not comment on Beyer's role in finding a candidate, but he said that "plenty of money" would be set aside by the party to try to win back the seat.
Whitehead also wouldn't comment when asked whether Beyer called him.
Dudley, who has not formally announced his bid for re-election, said Wednesday that Whitehead's probable candidacy doesn't surprise him "because I've said all along that there's no way the Democrats wouldn't find somebody to run against me."
by CNB