THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 29, 1996 TAG: 9606290223
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 54 lines
Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff doesn't want the tag of ``man in the middle'' when the new City Council is sworn in Monday night.
He told a reporter Thursday that he's the council's swing vote ``only if you keep saying I am.''
Like it or not, Krasnoff - who once called himself the ``Big I'' - is the lone independent on a technically nonpartisan council that will be evenly split along party lines.
In May's election, Republicans lost their majority in the City Council when Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr. was defeated and John E. Allen did not seek re-election. Democrats, who had control of the council until the 1994 elections, pulled back to even when Elizabeth P. Thornton was added to the council.
When the new council is sworn in at 6:30 p.m. Monday, it will be a 4-4 split, plus Krasnoff.
Based on public proclamations, party politics should not be a factor for this new council. During the last election, candidates pledged to take politics out of decisions.
Yet if the council engages in partisan gridlock, the two-term Krasnoff, 49, could be the deciding vote.
``I'm trying to stay away from that middle thing,'' said Krasnoff. ``On every vote, there's always a different swing man.''
Council members, Krasnoff said, usually decide for themselves how to vote on issues. And while he admits trading votes to fill positions on the city's boards and commissions, Krasnoff said he never trades votes on issues crucial to the city.
``When we vote on issues, the Republicans no longer become Republicans, and the Democrats no longer become Democrats,'' said Krasnoff. ``I do not lobby on issues. I vote on a factual basis.''
Krasnoff has not been a power broker on the council. During some recent council meetings, Krasnoff had a tough time just getting his motions seconded by his peers.
But he has brought about some major changes in Chesapeake. For five years he worked to create Chesapeake's levels-of-service policy, a device used by city planners to measure what effect developments will have on roads and schools. It has set Chesapeake apart from other cities in Virginia, where growth controls have never received favorable support in the General Assembly.
Krasnoff's new influence might be tested a week from Tuesday, when the council decides who will be the next vice mayor.
With the departure of Nance, council members are joking that almost every veteran member of the council is considering the position.
Democratic Councilman John W. Butt, who has served before as vice mayor, is said to be in the running, as is Republican Councilman W. Joe Newman, the council's secretary.
Krasnoff, too, said he has been encouraged to consider the post.
``But,'' he said, ``I haven't made up my mind.'' by CNB