ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150023
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
IF THE Roanoke Valley were to pick a most valuable player on its legislative team, who would it be?
House Majority Leader Dick Cranwell of Vinton - by statewide consensus, perhaps the most influential member of the 140-member General Assembly - has to claim that title. His clout continues to pay off for this region when it comes to statewide issues such as support for public education and anti-poverty efforts, as well as those of a more provincial nature.
But even the mighty Cranwell can't carry the ball by himself, and the valley is fortunate to have not only Cranwell but others in its delegation playing hard and effectively for local interests.
This year, for instance, Democrat ``Chip'' Woodrum joined Democrat Vic Thomas on the House Appropriations Committee - helping significantly to secure funding in the state's next two-year budget for area parks, museums, arts and other cultural programs, and for Roanoke-based statewide programs like Virginia CARES (for ex-offenders trying to escape lives of crime) and the Virginia Water Project (for poor families lacking basic plumbing facilities).
The rookie on the team, Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, was instrumental in getting planning funds for a higher-education center in the mothballed Norfolk and Western office building next to the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.
And the Republicans - Del. Morgan Griffith of Salem and Sen. ``Bo'' Trumbo of Fincastle - didn't just sit on the bench. They lent valuable support on matters of local interest, in some cases running interference to keep the GOP caucus from opposing something simply because Cranwell (still Gov. George Allen's arch-enemy, all the smiling notwithstanding) was for it.
Along with their counterparts from the New River Valley, Roanoke Valley delegates boast a long tradition of putting partisan considerations aside and pulling together for the region's as well as the state's betterment. This year was no exception.
All of which doesn't make our elected officials or their records perfect, but does leave the region well-represented.
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB