ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601080003
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
A former School Board chairman who was the second black city councilman in Roanoke history has emerged as the likely choice to fill an open seat on City Council.
Dr. Wendell Butler, who left City Council in 1984, may be appointed to fill former Vice Mayor John Edwards' seat as early as Monday, when council convenes for a luncheon meeting with the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, several council sources said.
Butler, 71, a Democrat, is a Roanoke dentist who practices part time. He served on the School Board between 1970 and 1980, including an 18-month stint as chairman.
He served on City Council from 1980 to 1984.
Butler said Friday that if he is appointed, he will serve only as a "caretaker" council member through June 30.
"This would be a six-month, temporary duty assignment," Butler said. "I don't want to commit myself for four years of anything."
The remaining two years of Edwards' term would be filled by the winner of a special election in May.
Democrats as well as Republicans - who have remained divided on the issue of a replacement for Edwards since his state Senate election victory in November - would have something to gain from Butler's appointment.
GOP council members would get an appointee who wouldn't run for election later this year, something they've vowed to hold out for since early November.
Democrats would get a fourth member of their own party to replace Edwards, who also is a Democrat.
The only person who has been formally nominated so far is former Councilman Robert Garland, a Republican. Council Democrats shot down that nomination Tuesday when they voted as a bloc to deny Garland the seat.
That came after the Democrats' leading candidate - School Board Chairman Nelson Harris - withdrew his name from consideration.
Butler's appointment was pushed by Councilman William White in a private Democratic caucus on Tuesday before Garland was nominated. But the three Democrats couldn't unanimously agree on him, so Butler wasn't nominated at that time.
Since then, council sources said, the lone holdout has agreed to back Butler - and enough Republicans apparently will go along to give Butler the four votes necessary to get the post.
Butler, a close friend of former Mayor Noel Taylor, has had a long career of public service.
He was appointed to the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority in 1968. Two years later, he won appointment to the School Board.
He said his proudest accomplishment during that time was overseeing the full integration of city schools, which still were largely segregated in 1970.
Known as soft-spoken but passionately concerned about such issues as education and affirmative action, Butler was elected to City Council in 1980. To devote more time to his dental practice, he chose not to run for re-election after one term.
Butler currently serves on the state Water Control Board.
The city school system was a focus of his council work. During that time, other council members occasionally kidded him about being the School Board's representative on City Council, given his staunch support for education funding.
Gary Waldo, a Democratic political activist and executive director of the Roanoke Education Association, said if Butler had a fault as a School Board member, it could be that he didn't stand up to school superintendents enough.
"Having said that, compared to some of his successors, I think he would come out with a halo, quite frankly," Waldo added.
If he is appointed, he'll likely need a short time to get reacquainted with city government processes, Butler said.
"I don't have an agenda," he said. "Assuming I am going to be appointed, I plan to meet with Mayor [David] Bowers and City Manager Bob Herbert to kind of catch up to speed."
But Butler is a little reluctant to take the appointment for granted.
"This is, after all, political."
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Butler colorby CNB