ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605030080
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
ROANOKERS face an abundance of candidates in City Council balloting Tuesday - and an absence of overarching issues by which to distinguish them.
Strengthening neighborhoods, bringing government into closer touch with city residents: These are recurring themes. But they don't seem to be polarizing candidates or the electorate.
Beneath the relatively placid surface, however, some dissatisfaction is evident - part of which may reflect a thirst for council leadership of a certain sort.
Leadership that actively seeks and incorporates citizen collaboration in policy-making, yet does not use this as an excuse for delay and inaction. That respects and makes use of the professional expertise of city staffers, yet does not abdicate its own policy-making responsibilities as elected representatives. That brings fresh ideas and approaches to council, yet also possesses a solid base of knowledge and experience in city affairs.
These, at any rate, are the yardsticks we've tried to apply in the recommendations that follow.
FOUR-YEAR TERMS
Alvin Nash, Wyatt, Swain
SIX CANDIDATES are running for three four-year Roanoke City Council seats. Our preferences:
Alvin Nash seems to us the strongest candidate this year, except for Nelson Harris, who is running in a separate contest discussed below.
Nash, a Republican, is deputy director of Total Action Against Poverty Inc., the nationally known anti-poverty agency, and executive director of the Blue Ridge Housing Development Corp. His housing expertise could prove particularly valuable on a challenge of increasing importance to the city.
Level-headed and plain-spoken, Nash criticizes Roanoke for too often sliding into "management by crisis" rather than anticipating and preventing problems before they occur. With the Hotel Roanoke project completed, he says, the city should develop a Roanoke Renew II initiative, which would include neighborhood preservation and economic development.
On the latter point, Nash - a member for the past six years of the City Economic Development Commission - calls for the Roanoke Valley to tout itself more vigorously as a good place to begin a career and to retire at the conclusion of a career. It's an interesting idea.
Regarding relations with other valley governments, Nash predicts continued expansion of cooperative efforts, including social services - as long as city officials don't go off on a high horse. People in Roanoke County and Salem, Nash says, may be more sensitive to social problems than some in Roanoke city have been willing to acknowledge.
Linda Wyatt, a Democrat, is the only incumbent among the nonmayoral candidates. She is seeking a full term after her 1994 election to fill two years remaining in an unexpired one.
Wyatt's campaign focuses on continued development of a long-range vision for the city, a process by which - once you cut through the jargon - she hopes to encourage more meaningful public participation in city policy-making.
Wyatt is a schoolteacher. We continue to harbor a few reservations about the Virginia law that allows active School Board employees to sit on the local governing bodies that appropriate school funds. But that is the law, and Wyatt deserves a full term to work on strengthening the links between Roanokers and their municipal government.
Carroll Swain is one of the remaining four candidates, each of whom can cite points in his favor. A Democrat, Swain is a native Roanoker and retired Army officer who was assistant director and then director of the city's Department of School Plants until 1992.
Relatively unknown politically until his entry into the race, Swain has been quietly impressive in candidate forums and interviews with his common-sense ideas on improving basic municipal services. Among those ideas: a city-maintained complaint file, so progress in addressing problems can be tracked.
Independent Joe Nash is the freshest, most interesting candidate in the field. We came close to recommending a vote for him.
Nash (no relation to Alvin) moved back to the city three years ago, and found himself a leader of an anti-crime effort in his Wasena neighborhood. He comes across as a fast learner who's down-to-earth, open-minded and acutely interested in neighborhood quality. His potential as a council member would be enhanced if he were first to gain experience on, say, the city School Board or Planning Commission.
By contrast, Democrat James Trout and Republican David Lisk have a wealth of experience in municipal affairs, including stints on City Council - Trout from 1968-76 and 1982-90, Lisk from 1966-76. Both men have contributed greatly to the city, and remain deeply committed to its well-being.
But this is 1996. The question for voters is how well the leadership styles of an earlier era would fit the Roanoke of today.
UNEXPIRED TERM
Nelson Harris
IN 1994, Democrat Nelson Harris, then 29, finished just out of the running in his first race for City Council. What we saw as a very strong field forestalled our endorsement of his candidacy.
But we called him then "a bright new star on the political scene" with "as good a grasp of the issues ... as anyone in the race," and suggested the Baptist minister would make an excellent candidate in a future contest.
Running this year to complete the term of John Edwards, who left council after election to the state Senate, Harris is an obvious choice. He offers even more credentials than in '94: His steady, thoughtful performance the past two years as School Board chairman has earned him high marks from throughout the city.
Harris' Republican opponent is Jeff Artis, a substitute teacher, publisher of the Black Conservative Newsletter and a church custodian. Artis' restless intellect and libertarian instincts make him an interesting candidate, but he lacks Harris' record of municipal experience and accomplishments.
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