ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 1996 TAG: 9609030118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
From Sidney Buford Scott, chairman of Chairman, Scott & Stringfellow Inc., a stock brokerage headquartered in Richmond:
``If I were hiring, in a traditional sense, someone to be my United States Senator, I would consider one main factor: the right kind of experience. Every day our senator rises to vote for us and to speak for us. I believe Mark Warner's experience is the kind of experience which can be most effective for the future of Virginia ... ''
``We do not require our elected officials to be career politicians. Instead, we often choose the candidate with a fresh new voice and new ideas. Mark Warner is such a candidate. His experience as an entrepreneur, as a civic leader, and as a self-made success will serve him well as he represents us. Mark has spent his life creating jobs and balancing budgets, not writing legislation and attending committee meetings. His experience, real-world experience, qualifies him to represent Virginia in the Unites States Senate
``Mark's success in business is well known. Starting with nothing, he has had the vision to develop a number of cellular phone and wireless companies, as well as computer on-line companies. Mark supports and will fight for Virginia's traditional industries - the backbone of today's economy. But, he also knows we need a senator who will pursue the development of tomorrow's industries so that all Virginians will have opportunities to prosper. A senator who delivers funds for today is a good thing, but a senator who also delivers jobs for tomorrow is a better thing. As a businessman, I am concerned that too few of our public officials understand the dynamics of the changing economy - an economy based more and more on technology and innovation. Mark Warner knows the look of the new jobs of tomorrow ... ''
``Mark's extensive community involvement has taught him the value of seeking solutions at the local level because that is often where the best solutions can be found. He is fond of saying that `the best solutions are found on Main Street, Virginia not Washington, D.C.' As the founding chairman of the extremely successful Virginia Health Care Foundation, Mark has helped provide health care to nearly 45,000 under-insured Virginians through a public-private partnership which encourages neighbors to care for neighbors. He has worked in and visited our neighborhoods and our communities. He knows our problems and how they can be solved ... ''
From Elnora Daniel, executive vice president and provost of Hampton University, who has been associated with Mark Warner through the Virginia Health Care Foundation since the early 1990s:
``A few years ago, while the Washington politicians continually bickered about reforming our health care system, Mark Warner was making it happen here in the Commonwealth. Mark, and other individuals involved, realized that providing health care to the uninsured would take a different approach than a mandate from Washington or Richmond. They realized that the key to the solution was involving the local community, especially the business and non-profit communities.
``Through his drive and commitment to make this innovative idea work, he took it to the Governor and the General Assembly and secured seed money to get this innovative project moving. Through Mark's leadership, the Foundation involved business and non-profit organizations at the local level to help solve local problems. In a few short years, people in over 45 communities in Virginia were receiving primary care.
``The way Mark approached this problem really impressed me. He approached it with new ideas and a fresh vision. This approach is exactly what leads me to recommend him to be our next United States Senator. ... ''
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB