Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 12, 1995 TAG: 9506120101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY AND DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In the hotly contested House of Delegates race between incumbent Democrat Jim Shuler and Republican challenger Larry Linkous, both candidates are wasting no time in getting their names out.
And along Prices Fork Road, in one of Blacksburg's most densely populated precincts, a sign war of sorts is well under way.
Take a drive west from downtown Blacksburg and you'll view the battlefield - rolling farmland along the north side of the road. Near the entrance to Hethwood, where Shuler lives, the two candidates are advertised on competing 4-by-8 signs that stand just a few feet apart.
Travel a little farther down Prices Fork and you'll see another Shuler sign directly across from the entrance to Kipps Elementary School. Then, as you near the intersection of Prices Fork and Merrimac roads (where Linkous has an office and just a short distance from the driveway to his family's 200-year-old home place), there's another big Linkous sign.
"There's some more popping up today around the county," Linkous said Friday. "You've got to get the name out."
Shuler, too, is no slouch. He has large billboards in Christiansburg and near Newport in Giles County and, like Linkous, 4-by-8 signs on most major thoroughfares.
But Linkous concedes the sign battle for Montgomery County's precinct F-2 - which chose Shuler (72 percent) and Democratic gubernatorial loser Mary Sue Terry (55 percent) in '93 - may have reached a halting point. "We've got enough on Prices Fork Road."
Marye: Lean, mean political machine
DUBLIN - Don't tell Madison Marye he's washed up, too frail at 69 for another four years in the state Senate.
The Democrat from Shawsville made that point as he accepted his party's nomination Thursday to run against Blacksburg Republican Pat Cupp in the district that covers Montgomery, Smyth and Grayson counties, the city of Galax and half of Carroll and Pulaski counties.
"I want to go back to Richmond and I wouldn't be running if I didn't believe that I could win," Marye said. "I tell you, my health is good."
Marye survived a serious heart attack in December 1992. These days, he exercises regularly and says his cholesterol level remains well below the danger threshold.
"I'm 165 pounds of rompin', stompin', Ninth District Democrat," he roared, as the crowd of more than 100 cheered.
Of that crowd, perhaps only two people came away disappointed: one of Cupp's advisers, James Oliver, and his friend, Jennifer Wallace, who is working for Larry Linkous' House campaign. They came expecting to hear attacks on Cupp.
Instead, Marye barely mentioned his opponent. Del. Thomas Jackson, D-Hillsville, who nominated his Senate senior, and Marye both spent their podium time blasting Republican Gov. George Allen's agenda, particularly as it applies to state employees and higher education.
"Higher education is not an issue for partisan politics," Marye said. "And [Thomas] Jefferson, whom they like to misquote and misuse, is turning over in his grave tonight at their lack of experience and arrogance."
Warner goes online with home page
U.S. Sen. John Warner may not be turning over a new leaf, but he is on a new page. The Virginia Republican has set up his own home page on the World Wide Web section of the Internet.
This makes Virginia the first state to have both of its senators on the web.
Warner's home page, like that of Democratic colleague Charles Robb, allows computer users to access his press releases, send e-mail to the senator, and otherwise keep up with their senator's official activities.
But Warner's corner of cyberspace also includes something different: an order form for one of the flags that flies over the U.S. Capitol.
The address of Warner's home page is ftp://ftp.senate.gov/member
/va/warner/general/warner.html.
The address of Robb's home page is ftp://ftp.senate.gov/member
/va/robb/general/robb.html.
The other Warner fits `new image'
Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who's heading the Democrats' efforts to recruit Senate candidates next year, is said to be seeking out "independent-minded, self-made" business leaders to help create a new image for the party nationally.
Roll Call, the newspaper covering Congress, reported last week that Kerrey had singled out Northern Virginia cellular phone entrepreneur Mark Warner as the type of Democratic candidate he's looking for.
Warner steps down this month as state Democratic chairman to begin his quest for the Senate seat held by Republican John Warner.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB