ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603250070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SERIES: Profiles of the Candidates
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DAVID BOWERS PROMISES TO CONVENE citywide meetings on crime in Roanoke.
Elected in 1992 to a post he said he dreamed of occupying since high school, Roanoke's incumbent mayor says he is running on a four-year record of stewardship that has reduced crime, raised the city's profile and overseen the completion of projects such as the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.
David Bowers has been arguably one of the city's biggest boosters in those years, spending hundreds of hours at ceremonial functions such as ribbon-cuttings, dedications and grand openings. On one occasion, the 43-year-old lawyer called himself "the P.T. Barnum of Roanoke."
But the once-maverick councilman and diehard Democrat seems to have undergone a political metamorphosis since he was elected to City Council in 1984. How that will play out in the general election is unclear.
Many of the working-class types Bowers assiduously courted during his prior three campaigns appear to have deserted him. Some have said he has not fulfilled his 1992 campaign promise to "take back City Hall for the people."
In particular, some blacks are angry because in 1995 Bowers voted against a referendum on a modified ward system after saying for years that he would support one.
But at a debate Tuesday night at High Street Baptist Church, sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the crowd of 100 seemed stunned when Bowers said that now he would support a referendum.
The response was a collective, "Whoa!'' A few said, "What?''
Afterward, the mayor said his position on a referendum "really hasn't changed."
The Mill Mountain resident also has generally toned down past rhetoric that led doubters to believe he was Democrat first and a councilman second.
He has broken with Democrats in two recent council votes to entertain the idea of nonpartisan elections. At the same time, he appears to have cozied up to some of the city business leaders who once regarded him with disdain.
He has said the shift reflects his belief that he must be mayor to "all of the people of the city," rather than only certain segments.
At a March 14 debate before the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League, Bowers promised to convene citywide meetings on crime in Roanoke, similar to the economic summits he held shortly after his election in 1992.
DAVID BO Address: 601 Camilla Ave. S.E.
Age: 43
Occupation: Lawyer
Political experience: Served on Roanoke City Council 1984-1992. Served as
mayor 1992-present.
Marital status: Divorced
Telephone numbers: Home, 427-4150; law office, 345-6622; municipal office,
981-2444
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) David Bower. color.
KEYWORDS: POLITICS MAYOR PROFILE
by CNB