ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9601020059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
For weeks, Roanoke City Council has been readying itself to do battle over naming a successor to Vice Mayor John Edwards. On Friday, it found out the leading contender for the post had taken himself out of the running.
The Rev. Nelson Harris, chairman of the city School Board and the choice of all three Democrats on council, asked council members to remove his name from consideration.
The request came in a letter that Harris sent to all council members on Friday.
Harris cited a deadlock over the appointment between Republicans and Democrats as his reason for dropping out.
Council's three Republicans are staunchly in favor of a nonpolitical caretaker to fill Edwards' slot, so as not to give anyone an advantage in a special election in May to fill the remaining two years of his term. Edwards was elected to the state Senate in November.
Democrats, meanwhile, feel just as strongly that the appointee should have the option of running for the seat in the special election.
Both sides conceded late last week that the issue could wind up in court, with judges making the appointment.
"I just didn't think it was in the best interest of City Council or the city that the deadlock continue and that the court would decide on the vacancy," Harris said.
The chances for a council to reach a consensus on a replacement are better with him out of the picture, he added.
That leaves council, which could vote on the appointment as early as Tuesday, with a long list of ex-council members as potential replacements. But there's no clear front-runner.
"Right now I have no candidate that I'm thinking of," said Councilwoman Linda Wyatt, perhaps Harris' strongest backer. "I have no earthly idea."
"I don't have any names," said Councilman William White, also a Democrat. "But Nelson did the appropriate thing. That shows the character he has."
Mayor David Bowers, the third Democrat, said he may call for a vote on the appointment as early as Tuesday, council's next regularly scheduled meeting.
The three Democrats said they still believe that whoever is chosen ought to be able to run in the special election.
Harris, who ran fourth in a three-way council race in 1994, said he is keeping his options open on whether he'll seek the remaining two years of the seat during the special election. He said he would announce his intentions in January or February.
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