ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602260018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
Waldon Kerns, a two-term member of the Blacksburg Town Council, said Friday he will not run for re-election this spring.
The Virginia Tech professor in the agricultural and applied economics department will be on sabbatical from the university for six months to a year and likely will travel during that time.
"I think the town's in real good shape and I think it will be in even better shape when I get back," he said.
Kerns, who also was on the town's Planning Commission for five years, is not ruling out the possibility of running for Town Council again or serving on other committees when he returns.
"I've always been involved in public service wherever I've been," said Kerns, who has worked at the university since 1975 and is a Tech graduate.
Kerns' seat is one of three up for re-election on May 7. Michael Chandler and Frances Parsons, the two other incumbents, both said they plan to run for re-election.
In order to run for office, potential candidates must turn in a petition with at least 120 signatures to the county registrar's office on the second floor of the Montgomery County Courthouse by March 5.
As of yet, no one has filed a petition with the registrar's office, but at least two Blacksburg residents have been gathering signatures to run for the at-large council seats. Businessman Ron Rordam, vice chairman of the Planning Commission and Realtor Todd Halwas, outgoing president of the Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce, both said this week they will run for Town Council.
Halwas and Rordam cited the future growth of Blacksburg as a major factor in their decisions to run for office, in addition to providing a business perspective on the council.
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CITY COUNCILby CNB