Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505220066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN AND BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Doug Marrs, a Christiansburg Police Department lieutenant, won the nomination over the current chief deputy and his immediate predecessor.
Marrs, 48, received 211 of 415 votes cast at the GOP mass meeting. Chief Deputy Dan Haga received 176 votes. Sheriff Ken Phipps, a Republican who is not seeking a second term, nominated Haga.
Roy Bolen, a former state trooper and former Montgomery chief deputy, received 27 votes. He has reapplied to the Virginia State Police.
One person voted "no."
Marrs will face one of five Democratic candidates and at least one independent in November. The Democrats meet June 3.
Marrs told the GOP gathering he was qualified for the "difficult task" of running for sheriff. He said he would treat each county resident equally and could be entrusted with the authority of the office.
Like the other two candidates, he also stressed his more than 20 years as a public servant in law enforcement. He pledged to put "God first, others second and myself last."
He joined the Christiansburg Police Department in 1971 after 21/2 years as a Blacksburg patrol officer. He became Christiansburg's first investigator in 1977 and now oversees investigations.
"It's a long ways yet and a lot of work to be done," a grinning Marrs said after the meeting. He gave a lot of credit to door-to-door campaigning he conducted in the Christiansburg area.
In the only other contested race, Montgomery Republicans chose a veteran accountant over a state trooper as their candidate to try to break Democrats' more than 40-year hold over the office of commissioner of revenue.
Helen St. Clair of Christiansburg, an 11-year employee of the county treasurer's office, won the nomination over Steve Fijalkowski of Shawsville by a 271-232 count.
About 90 people left the long meeting before the sheriff's vote was taken.
"I would like to thank the Lord for guiding my path to this point in life, and I would seek his continued guidance," St. Clair said. Her boss, Treasurer Ellis Meredith, nominated St. Clair and said she has saved taxpayers money by finding tax assessment errors made by the commissioner's office.
In a steamy middle-school gym, the 500 Republicans approved a series of unopposed nominations, starting with Larry Linkous of Blacksburg, who will challenge freshman Del. Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg.
With the delegates using campaign fliers to fan themselves, the mass meeting also elected:
Joey Showalter to run for commonwealth's attorney. Showalter, 33, pledged to conduct the "most visible, aggressive, door-to-door effort this county has ever seen." He will face either the incumbent, Phil Keith, or County Attorney Roy Thorpe, who both are seeking the Democratic nomination.
Meredith, to run for a seventh term as treasurer. He is unopposed.
Nick Rush to run for another term on the Board of Supervisors representing District B, which includes Ellett Valley and part of Christiansburg. He is unopposed.
Richard Gordon, retired from the Army and the county sheriff's office, to challenge longtime Democratic Supervisor Ira Long of Prices Fork in District E. Gordon said he's enjoying retirement but is running short of "honey-do" chores and would have the time to dedicate to public service.
Curtis Cox, a machinist, to take on Democratic Supervisor Joe Gorman in Blacksburg's District G. Cox said he is running to try to generate interest among people who are apathetic about government.
The party nominated no one for the District F seat, which Linkous will leave at year's end, but the party leadership still can approve a candidate by the June 13 state filing deadline. So far, there are three Democratic contenders.
Meanwhile, earlier Saturday, 114 Republicans gathered in Dublin officially named Blacksburg's Pat Cupp their candidate to challenge state Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, this fall.
Joe Blevins of Marion, a Smyth County district chairman, said Cupp will help the Republican Party break the dominance of the remnants of the former Byrd machine that once controlled state politics. "What we need in the General Assembly is more successful Republican businessmen," he said.
Cupp, 55, heads a Blacksburg development and property management firm he founded. Cupp outlined the differences between himself and Marye in seven major areas, including fiscal philosophy, economic development and education. Cupp hit on cuts in state funding for higher education, especially during the administration of former Democratic Gov. Douglas Wilder.
"My opponent's been quiet as a mouse up until this year because it's his party that was doing the damage to higher education," Cupp said.
Marye, 69, was elected in 1973 and hasn't had an opponent since 1983. Marye's 39th District seat represents Montgomery, Smyth and Grayson counties, the city of Galax and half of Carroll and Pulaski counties.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB