Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 23, 1990 TAG: 9004230211
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But in two other New River Valley localities, Blacksburg and Radford, voters next week will decide contested races. In both places, serious issues have been raised during the campaigns.
In Blacksburg, the issue is a perennial one: whether the town is striking the right balance between encouraging development and regulating it.
As a rule, with a wrinkle here or there, council incumbents Joyce Lewis, Al Leighton and Lewis Barnett say the right balance is being struck. Current regulations, they say, appear to be reflect the will of a majority of Blacksburg residents.
Challengers Ray Chisholm and Frank Teske Sr. are more critical. Teske, who served on council in the early '70s, says landscape and parking-space regulations are too stringent. Chisholm, a member of the town Planning Commission, says local taxes are too high because of the town's "anti-business attitude" and criticizes the time it takes for developers' site plans to be reviewed.
In Radford, another issue has been raised, stemming from recent developments at the state level: Radford's status as an independent city. It isn't the only issue in the contest for mayor between incumbent Thomas Starnes and veteran Councilman David Worrell, but it's an issue where there's some daylight between the two men's positions.
Unlike Blacksburg or Christiansburg, Radford is not part of Montgomery County; among other things, Radford operates its own school system.
A legislative study commission recommended to the 1990 General Assembly that small cities such as Radford be encouraged to give up their independence. Under the proposal, they could remain independent if they wished, but they could not do so and still have the power to annex land from neighboring counties. The General Assembly deferred the commission's report for a year, pending a look at the financial consequences of its recommendations.
Starnes has been among the leaders of those protesting the proposal. He says "a strong and articulate spokesman" is needed "to assure that Radford remains an independent city." Worrell notes that passage or rejection of the proposal will be up to the General Assembly; if it's passed, he says, whether Radford is to remain independent should be decided in a referendum rather than by City Council.
The issue in Blacksburg is an old issue; in Radford, a relatively new one. But in both places, how the issues are decided could bear significantly on the future. Blacksburg and Radford voters have ample reason to go to the polls.
by CNB