Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 7, 1995 TAG: 9508070074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY and DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Six other speakers preceded him at the recent Montgomery County Democrats' summer picnic at the Mid-County Park just outside Christiansburg.
They talked about campaigns and issues and getting volunteers for the fall push. But none mentioned the unappetizing smell wafting through the hot, humid air of picnic pavilion No. 1, where about 95 Democrats dined.
The Mid-County Park, you see, is located beside the county landfill and the dog pound. That day's olfactory offense had the distinct smell of livestock, though some claimed it came from a nearby stash of rotten apples.
Whatever, it was like an embarrassing relative: Everyone knew it was there and hoped it wouldn't get worse, but no one was mentioning it.
Then Marye stepped up to the plate. Before getting into his stump speech, Marye addressed the issue at nose.
"I don't know how you all have endured the odor so long," he said. "Maybe the other party's having a function down the hill, I don't know."
A thorn in Cranwell's side?
To hear Republican House of Delegates candidate Trixie Averill tell it, the best part about her new campaign headquarters isn't the visibility that the location along heavily traveled Washington Avenue in Vinton provides.
Nor is it the ample parking for volunteers around back.
It's not even the backyard deck, perfect for small-scale campaign rallies.
No, it's the convenient location not far from her opponent, House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County.
"It is five minutes from his [law] office and it is five minutes from his shell of a headquarters," Averill told about 50 supporters who gathered this week to inaugurate her headquarters. "We are going to be a thorn in his side from the word `go.' We're going to just give him a major headache."
Averill said later she didn't intend to harass Cranwell but vowed to wage an especially visible campaign in Vinton to get his attention. "If it bothers him, what can I say?"
Her challenge to the state's most prominent Democratic legislator - and the one the Republicans consider most responsible for frustrating Gov. George Allen's legislative agenda - continues to draw statewide attention.
Del. Jay Katzen, R-Warrenton, came down from Fauquier County to speak at Averill's event. And Del. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, sent a vase of red, white and blue flowers.
Beating the heat
House candidate Newell Falkinburg - who's opposing Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke -is not a coat-and-tie politician. Lately, he's been going door-to-door wearing a polo shirt and Bermuda shorts.
"Is that bad?" he asks. "It's 90 degrees outside."
The Roanoke physician is playing up his occupation, too. "I tell people they're getting a house call and it's free."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB