THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512260065
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
This January, for the first time in 20 years, Elliot S. Schewel will not be packing his bags for the state Senate session in Richmond.
Instead, Schewel and his wife, Rosel, will be packing a steamer trunk for a cruise around the Southern tip of South America. The journey will be the maiden voyage in his retirement from elected office.
``I'm 71,'' Schewel said, ``and I don't know how many days and years I have left. There are so many things I want to do besides politics. I want to travel, spend time with my grandchildren. I want to learn to use a computer. I want to learn how to play bridge.''
Schewel established a reputation as the consummate gentleman, the ethical conscience of the Senate and a quietly effective lawmaker.
``This is the fairest man alive,'' said Norma Szakal, a lawyer for the Senate Education and Health Committee, which Schewel chaired. ``Even when people came before the committee whose bills he could not stand, he treated them fairly.''
Schewel leaves with one small regret: His departure leaves Senate Democrats with a tenuous grip on power with the upper chamber in a 20-20 deadlock.
``I have real guilt feelings about the way the elections turned out,'' said Schewel, who would have provided the 21st vote for Democrats if he had sought a sixth term. ``In essence, I put my own personal interests above the party's. I'm sorry, but that's what I had to do.''
Schewel's interest in politics grew out of a sense of civic responsibility instilled by his family, which runs a chain of furniture stores based in Lynchburg.
His grandfather, Elias Schewel, opened a storefront on 12th Street in downtown Lynchburg in 1897. His three sons, including Elliot's father, Abe, joined the business.
Abe Schewel served on City Council and was a leader in many civic activities.
Elliot joined the furniture business and married Rosel, a bright, energetic woman from Baltimore.
``Politics was always discussed around the dinner table,'' said Steve Schewel, one of three children. ``Dad was the family conservative and mom was the family liberal.''
Schewel served on term on the City Council in the mid-1960s and was elected to the Senate in 1975.
He was conservative on fiscal matters and moderate-to-liberal on social matters. He is known as the author of the modern grievance procedure that provides state workers with a fair opportunity to resolve disputes.
Schewel's most difficult period came in the late 1980s, when the Senate was grappling with how to discipline then-Sen. Peter Babalas, who was charged with selling his vote on a second mortgage lending bill.
Some lawmakers wanted to duck the issue, let the courts determine Babalas' fate. Schewel was among the leaders who prevailed in persuading the Senate to censure Babalas.
His efforts put Schewel under the ethical microscope, too. Some lawmakers noted that Schewel sat on the Sovran Bank board and voted on matters that benefited banks.
Schewel replied that a Senate panel had ruled there was nothing improper about his relationship with Sovran, but the criticism stung.
Schewel also recalled the lighter moments, such as when then-Sen. William Fears rose to draw attention to one of his constituents visiting in the Senate gallery. Fears spoke in glowing terms about the man and his various accomplishments. He talked and talked, until it became obvious that Fears could not recall the man's name.
``I'm at the age now that I could sympathize with that,'' Schewel said.
In 20 years, Schewel never faced serious opposition back home. He was popular enough to take stands - such as support for the ERA and opposition to parental notification for abortion - that would have proven fatal to lesser politicians.
``He would research an issue and stand on his principle,'' said Leighton B. Dodd, a former Lynchburg mayor. ``He wasn't a politician, but a statesman.''
Schewel cultivated this image a naive guy who didn't quite understand the back-room dealing.
Others saw a bit of a politician's calculation in Schewel's professed ignorance of the game.
``He'd look at me with a straight face and say he didn't know anything about politics. That's about the biggest lie that's ever been uttered,'' said former state Sen. Dudley ``Buzz'' Emick, who holds Schewel in the highest regard.
``That kind of humble pie may work in retail, but I didn't buy it. He was a very shrewd politician. I know 'em when I see 'em.''
If Schewel has any more regrets about leaving, it is badly concealed contempt for his successor, Republican Sen.-elect Stephen D. Newman.
Schewel announced his retirement last Spring knowing there was no Democrat waiting in the wings. He knew that Newman would likely move up from the House of Delegates.
What pains Schewel is the most is not that Newman is a ideological conservative. It's more a question of style.
While Schewel came to politics after a long career in business and civic affairs, Newman, 31, is an ambitious politician who has been running for one office or another since he was old enough to vote.
In an interview, Schewel said he would rather not talk about Newman. But he reached for his wallet and pulled out a worn piece of paper. On it was scribbled Lynchburg News & Advance columnist Darrell Laurant's observation about Newman: ``He's never held a real job, at least in the sense that other people can identify with.''
Schewel folded the paper and sticks it back in his billfold.
KEYWORDS: BIOGRAPHY PROFILE by CNB