Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510190076
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Long
But the candidates vying for that seat are not at all new to local government service.
Democrat Frank Conner, 60, served as Pulaski County's sheriff for more than 12 years. Before that, he served in other positions within the Sheriff's Office and state Department of Corrections.
H.A. "Andy" McCready, 36, is vice chairman of the five-jurisdiction New River Valley Community Services Board, chairman of the Pulaski County Board of Zoning Appeals and has served on the Pulaski Town Planning Commission.
As sheriff, Conner managed an office with an annual budget of more than $1.5 million and helped keep the New River Police Academy located in Pulaski County. He said he is most proud of the construction of a new Sheriff's Office during his tenure. He kept costs low by using inmate labor.
In his varied positions, McCready shared responsibilities for recommending zoning changes and, in his community services work, administering mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse services in the valley.
The difference between the candidates, McCready said, is that "my years of public service ... are all directly related to the specific skills required to be a successful supervisor." The Board of Supervisors approves all zoning changes, and helps fund the Community Services Board activities.
When he ran for sheriff years ago, Conner did not campaign door to door as he is doing now. "I was in for so many years, I got to know so many people," he said. These days, he said, "I am renewing some old acquaintances."
Conner's retirement with a year left in his last term as sheriff led to the appointment of Democrat Ralph Dobbins, who subsequently won election for his current term and is seeking re-election with a challenge from Republican Norman Dowdy, a retired state trooper.
"I don't know why I retired, to be honest with you," Conner said. "I thought it was time I retired. I thought I had other things to do."
Once he had retired, though, Conner found there were not as many other things to do as he thought. If he had it to do over, he said, he would remain in office.
McCready said he believes government officials have an obligation to complete terms to which they are elected or appointed. He said he has always done that and would continue to do so, he said.
In his campaign speeches and interviews, McCready's emphasis has been on economic development and the rewards that come with it: tax revenues, jobs for established citizens and high school graduates, and the corresponding increase in home-building.
"Having built three business in Pulaski County, I am very familiar with the requirements to be successful in economic development," he said.
His goal is to pay for any additional school buildings needed without raising real estate and property taxes.
Economic growth should provide any needed additional revenue, he said.
Conner said he believes present revenues are adequate, but said it would be irresponsible to say a tax increase would never be necessary.
"Good schools, I believe, is our main thing," said Conner, who worked for three years with security at Pulaski County High School after retiring as sheriff. If every parent who has children in school could spend a few days seeing the jobs facing county teachers, he said, they would appreciate the teachers more.
Conner said he is a "people person" who would take ideas from citizens on county policies and actions. He and his wife raised their children in Pulaski County and now have grandchildren in its schools.
McCready, who started McCready Lumber in Pulaski County in 1986, is a frequent observer at Board of Supervisors meetings. Lately, he has turned up at School Board candidate forums and Pulaski Town Council meetings.
Doing several things at once is not a new experience for him. In the early 1980s, he was a full-time university student while attending night classes at New River Community College "and I never told either school what I was doing until it was over," he said. He earned two degrees in 1982, both with honors. He had been working part time in his native Martinsville while attending both institutions.
Name: Frank R. Conner
Age: 60
Party: Democrat
Family: Wife, Gloria; three children, Frank Conner Jr., Myra Gaye Resnick, Michael Ray Conner.
Job history: "Most of my adult life has been in Pulaski County in public service." After working with the Department of Corrections, he joined the Sheriff's Office in 1964, moved from deputy to investigator in 1973, and served as sheriff from 1977 until he retired in 1990, then worked for three years with the security force at Pulaski County High School.
Education: Associate degree in police science, New River Community College.
Hobbies: "I fish and I hunt. I don't hunt as much as I used to." He also has 25-30 beef cattle on a small farm.
Last publication read: Ralph Emery's autobiography, which recounts his career of meeting and interviewing country music figures.
Why he's running: "The one thing that prompted me to run was my time at the high school," working in security, and seeing firsthand what teachers go through every day, Conner said. It is an experience every parent should have, he said. "I really think that education has got to be our priority."
Name: H.A. "Andy" McCready
Age: 36
Party: Republican
Family: Wife, Karen.
Job history: Began working as an engineer in Tidewater in 1982, became maintenance superintendent in 1984. Started first company in Pulaski County in 1986, McCready Lumber, and has since added two others: Wurno Warehouses Inc., leasing space to several county industries; and PPT Inc., a trucking company.
Education: Graduated from Danville Community College with associate degree in electronics; New River Community College, associate in business management; Old Dominion University, bachelor's in electrical engineering technology, all with honors.
Hobbies: Tennis, softball. Also "train-watching," stemming from a long-time fascination with vintage and modern trains .
Last publication read: He reads mostly periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers.
Why he's running: Everyone has something to contribute to the community, whether it's coaching Little League or whatever, McCready said. He believed that his volunteer service to date lends itself to local government service.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB