Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 27, 1995 TAG: 9503270025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY AND RON BROWN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Here are some of the key questions yet to be answered in the races shaping up around the region:
Will state Sen. Madison Marye retire or run for re-election? The Montgomery County Democrat has promised an answer by early April. Democrats are pressuring him to seek another term while Republicans, who see his rural, conservative district as fertile ground for them, hope he won't.
Will the Republicans have a nomination fight for Marye's seat? Radford clothier and former congressional candidate Gary Weddle already has declared for the GOP nomination, whether Marye retires or not. But Blacksburg real-estate broker Pat Cupp also is weighing a bid for the Republican nomination and is expected to announce his intentions soon.
Who will Democrats field for Elliot Schewel's state Senate seat? The Lynchburg Democrat is retiring, and Del. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, appears to have emerged as the consensus GOP candidate.
Republicans chortle that Schewel's district, which includes Bedford and Bedford County, is a natural for them, and they virtually are counting it in their win column already. Democrats insist they'll field a strong contender, and House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Roanoke County says he's "excited" about some of the names he's heard. But he won't share them.
\ Woodrum challenge is on, informally
Roanoke engineer and lawyer Jim Lowe had hoped to formally declare his candidacy last week for the Republican nomination to face Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke.
But his campaign's volunteer staff had difficulty lining up the site where he wanted to make the announcement, so Lowe's formal declaration of candidacy may not come until next week. That's because this week he's out of town on business for the architectural and engineering firm of Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern.
Lowe's rival for the Republican nomination, Roanoke physician Newell Falkinburg, also is expected to announce his candidacy sometime in early April.
Just because neither Lowe nor Falkinburg has made a formal declaration, though, don't think the campaign hasn't started.
"I definitely think people are starting to get calls to make commitments," says Roanoke Republican Chairman William Fralin. "And I know some fund-raising is going on."
The nomination will be decided at a mass meeting sometime between May 13 and June 13.
The district covers Northwest Roanoke, South Roanoke, Raleigh Court and six precincts in the Cave Spring area of Roanoke County.
\ A Major-league manager
While it remains to be seen whether David Root has a taste for Virginia politics, he no doubt has a keenly developed stiff upper lip.
Root, the 27-year-old campaign manager for Augusta County lumberman John Root in his bid for the Republican nomination for the state Senate, once served as a constituency liaison for British Prime Minister John Major.
In Britain's parliamentary system, Major not only heads the British government, he also is elected to the House of Commons from a specific district - just as this country's speaker of the House is.
Root's job (that's David, not John; they're not related) was to keep folks happy at home while Major went about the business of running the country.
David Root came to Staunton after his wife got a job there.
Now he's delving into grass-roots politics in such communities as Steeles Tavern and Barren Ridge as John Root seeks the GOP nomination to face Democratic incumbent Frank Nolen.
The district includes Staunton, Waynesboro, Lexington, Buena Vista and the counties of Augusta, Rockbridge, Highland and part of Rockingham.
Staff writer Brian Kelley contributed to this report.
by CNB