ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601240054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
HE'S OUT ... HE'S STILL OUT ... HE'S IN. Jeff Artis says he's running for City Council after all.
Former GOP House of Delegates candidate Jeff Artis stepped up to the lectern at a City Council meeting Jan. 16 to talk about why council members should vote for a historic district in Gainsboro.
But first, he wanted to put everyone's mind at ease.
"Let me begin tonight by saying that I am not here tonight as a politician, for I am not interested in competing for a seat on City Council in the upcoming election," Artis began, repeating a vow he had made over and over since his November loss to Del. Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke.
Sometime during the last week, Artis changed his mind.
The maverick black Republican said Monday he'll file to run in an upcoming special election in May to fill the unexpired two years of former Vice Mayor John Edwards' term.
He's the first candidate to publicly announce for the May election. Five council seats, including the mayor's post, will be up for grabs.
Artis chalks up his change of heart to continual prodding by local Republicans, particularly city Republican Chairman William Fralin Jr. And some Democrats have urged him to change parties and run on their ticket, he added.
Meanwhile, council has failed to address some important issues such as education and flood control, he said.
"I'm concerned the city of Roanoke has not done all that needs to be done to educate all of its citizens," Artis said. "The city does well in educating upper-echelon kids, but not kids from the lower echelons."
Little work has been done to fix flooding in Garden City since torrential rains in June ravaged that Southeast Roanoke community, Artis added.
"Promises [to fix flooding problems in Garden City] have been made for 50 years. It's time for someone to get on City Council and make sure those promises are worked on," he said.
Artis' most likely challenger is the Rev. Nelson Harris, city School Board chairman. Harris dropped out of competition to be appointed by council to Edwards seat after Republicans balked at appointing anybody but a "caretaker" to the post.
At that time, Harris said he would announce his intentions shortly.
Fralin said the attention Artis drew in the House race should help in a council election.
"I think Jeff makes a great candidate," Fralin said. "He's knocked on a lot of doors in the community, he's got a race under his belt, he's a conservative Republican, and he helps in our efforts to reach out to the African-American community."
"I think he's a good man," said Councilman Jack Parrott, also a Republican. Parrott said it was already generally acknowledged that Artis would run when he appeared before council Jan. 16, so "I treated [the statement that he wouldn't] as a joke."
One thing is sure: With Artis in the race, it won't be dull. It would probably be an understatement to call him outspoken. His campaign speeches and public comments to City Council during the past 18 months have been littered with rhetorical bombast and self-revelation.
During his last campaign, he said publicly that a family member had been subjected to domestic abuse and that his life had been threatened by an anonymous caller. His car was vandalized.
At the time, Artis called a news conference and matched the callers' threats with one of his own.
"If someone comes into my home, I'm not going to get on my knees and pray. I've got something waiting for him," he said.
And he admitted that as a youth, he shoplifted.
After his loss to Thomas, Artis said: "I knew I'd get my a-- kicked, but I didn't know I'd get it kicked that bad."
And he also said at the time he wouldn't run for another political office because he wouldn't want to "put my family through this again. My family is the most important thing to me."
On Jan. 16, asking for a vote in favor of the Gainsboro historic district, Artis told council:
"Gainsboro has been raped, it has been robbed. ... Gainsboro is a story of a self-sufficient neighborhood destroyed by greed and broken promises. ... You owe it to Gainsboro, after everything past and present Roanoke City Councils have done to destroy this community."
"I think he's a brilliant young man," Councilwoman Elizabeth Bowles, the panel's senior GOP member, said Monday. "I think that everyone has his own style. Jeff is outspoken."
JEFF ARTIS
PARTY: Republican. Unsuccessful House challenger to Del. Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke, in last November's General Assembly elections.
AGE: 38
OCCUPATION: Church custodian, publisher of the Black Conservative Newsletter, former teacher at William Fleming and Patrick Henry high schools.
RESIDENCE: Southeast Roanoke
FAMILY: Married, three children.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: ``I'm concerned the city of Roanoke has not done all that needs to be done to educate all of its citizens. The city does well in educating upper-echelon kids, but not kids from the lower echelons.''
FLOOD CONTROL: ``Promises [to fix flooding problems in Garden City] have been made for 50 years. It's time for someone to get on City Council and make sure those promises are worked on.''
MODIFIED WARD SYSTEM: ``I'll support a referendum. ... I stand by my word. me in there.''
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Artis. KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB