THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605040006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SERIES: Decision '96
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
The lull that followed the rampant growth of the 1970s and '80s is about to end, and Virginia Beach is entering a critical new era. City officials promise that within two years the spigot for the Lake Gaston Pipeline will finally be turned on. With water no longer a scarce commodity, the city will be poised to enter a new phase of rapid growth.
It is crucial that City Council be ready to meet the challenges of this growth. No longer is helter-skelter development good enough for Virginia's largest city. City Council needs to get a grip on where it wants the city to go and then follow through. Virginia Beach also needs more jobs - not the minimum-wage dead-end variety that have been flooding the area in recent years, but opportunities for high wages and good careers.
The public school system is in crisis. City Council needs to carefully balance the conflicting demands of resort beautification, roads and education. Council must be made aware that without first-rate schools, Virginia Beach is doomed to lag economically and culturally.
Most of all, City Council needs members who are bold leaders with vision. Without such leadership Beach residents will never enjoy a higher standard of living and a booming economy.
Experience is the key reason we endorse Meyera Oberndorf for the city's top job. She has served Virginia Beach faithfully for 20 years, eight years as mayor and deserves to be re-elected. Oberndorf has been a booster for the city in many ways, a dedicated public servant and a tireless member of City Council.
If Oberndorf has a weakness as mayor, it is that she has not exercised particularly strong leadership. Consensus building is fine, but the mayor has immense political capital and is widely popular. Sometimes she should expend some of that capital by challenging her colleagues to follow her lead.
A case in point was when she and Norfolk's Mayor Paul Fraim agreed to jointly hire a consultant to explore a regional arena. When Oberndorf returned to council and met objections, she waffled rather than persuading her colleagues that it was the right thing to do.
Oberndorf's opponent, Bob Yurina, is an unknown quantity. He has been a relatively elusive candidate. Voters should not entrust the mayor's office to a candidate without a record of accomplishment or previous political success.
In the race for the Princess Anne borough seat, the two candidates running are politically almost indistinguishable from each other. In fact, a detractor said that choosing between Reba McClanan and Robert Dean is like asking a child to choose between spinach and liver. We don't agree the conservative views of McClanan and Dean are unpalatable. They have a place on council.
The choice comes down to which of he two can serve most effectively as spokesperson for those views. We support Reba McClanan as she attempts to regain the seat she gave up four years ago to run unsuccessfully for mayor. Prior to 1992 she served three terms on council, one as vice mayor.
Ms. McClanan has a history as a sober, slow-growth influence on a council that has, at times, hurtled headlong into projects and developments that were not always in the best interests of the city.
She is also a strong environmentalist. With the natural beauty of Virginia Beach it is reassuring to have someone with an eye on the intangible values of the city. McClanan lists education and transportation as other issues of importance to her; we like her priorities.
McClanan's opponent, Robert Dean, shares many of her beliefs. We have selected McClanan over Dean, however, because Dean's iconoclasm on council often leads to time-wasting dissertations and digressions. He's been more of a gadfly than a team player. Council meetings need to be an efficient use of everyone's time.
In the four-year at-large race we endorse incumbent Harold Heischober, an established businessman and veteran of 13 years on City Council including a term as mayor.
Heischober has lived in Virginia Beach since 1942 and is well-respected in the business community, both in Virginia Beach and Norfolk. His commitment to regional cooperation is one important factor in our endorsement. Heischober preaches the need for regionalism for the economic enhancement of Hampton Roads at every opportunity.
He is a clear thinker who admits that past councils on which he served have made mistakes. Heischober takes the long-range view of the city. He believes the Beach should lure retirees to the city, as well as industry that will offer young people a reason to stay at the Beach instead of seeking employment elsewhere. ``We need more jobs, and I don't mean the hot dog and hamburger kind,'' Heischober says.
Heischober's opponents are well-intentioned and, against a less-qualified candidate, might have earned our endorsement. But they can't hold a candle to Heischober who is one of Virginia Beach's finest public servants with an outstanding record. He's superbly prepared, deeply knowledgeable, shrewd and humane.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL RACE VIRGINIA BEACH MAYOR'S RACE
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