ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
Five Democratic candidates for Roanoke City Council on Thursday night linked their hands, lifted their arms and told party regulars that they'd work for more jobs, excellence in schools and stronger neighborhoods if elected in May.
"We are united for progress in this city," Mayor David Bowers told a sparse crowd of 85 who showed up for the Democratic mass meeting at Patrick Henry High School. "We can win, but we need your help."
Including the mayor's post, there are five seats up for election to City Council.
The nominating convention was bereft of surprises. Because only five Democrats are running, there was no intra-party competition. Everyone who sought a nomination got one.
The Democratic field includes one black candidate, one woman, two men who each have more than a decade of experience on City Council, and the city School Board chairman.
The candidates are:
Incumbent Mayor David Bowers, 43, a Roanoke lawyer and 12-year City Council veteran who is seeking his second four-year term as mayor. First elected in 1984, the Southeast Roanoke resident is seeking his fourth council term.
Incumbent Councilwoman Linda Wyatt, 47, a Roanoke schoolteacher from Northwest Roanoke who first was elected to council to a two-year-term in a 1994 special election. Wyatt is seeking a full four-year term.
Former Councilman Jim Trout, 65, a Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority commissioner who's served four terms on council: from 1968 to 1976 and from 1982 to 1990. Trout, of South Roanoke, has failed to win a seat in his last three council bids. He is seeking a four-year-term.
Carrol Swain, 68, of Northwest Roanoke, who is making his first bid for elective office. In 1992, Swain retired from his post as director for plants in the Roanoke school system. He's also a retired Army lieutenant colonel and is a decorated Vietnam War veteran. He's seeking a four-year term.
The Rev. Nelson Harris, 31, chairman of the Roanoke School Board, who is making his second bid for a City Council seat. The Southwest Roanoker is running in a special election to fill two unexpired years in the term of former Vice Mayor John Edwards, who was elected to the state Senate.
Bowers, who will be challenged in the mayor's race by GOP mayoral hopeful J. Patrick "Pat" Green, gave the longest speech.
He said that under his leadership, Roanoke's crime rate has declined for the last two years and the city has an "impressive record" of investing in the Hotel Roanoke, an upgraded water system and refuse disposal system.
City schools are working well, downtown is "exciting," neighborhoods are stable, he added. And "we have, under my tenure as mayor, continued and improved our fiscal situation," he said.
With a backhanded jab at the GOP, Bowers pledged to run a fully positive campaign.
"We've seen Republicans [in the presidential primaries] tear at each other and throw mud and dirt," Bowers said. "... The public is tired of negative campaigns. I may not win the election, but I will not run a negative campaign."
The Republican mass meeting is Tuesday evening at City Hall.
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