Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 20, 1990 TAG: 9006200353
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A poll by Virginia Tech researchers last fall showed that 74 percent of city residents support consolidation. In the county, sentiment on the issue was divided: 49 percent supported consolidation, but 45 percent opposed it and 6 percent were undecided.
Fralin said the group, made up of people who live in the city, believes that consolidation will help stimulate economic growth, create more jobs, save taxpayers money and give Roanoke more influence in state and federal governments.
The group, Citizens United for Progress, hopes to raise enough money to do polling, launch an advertising campaign and undertake other promotional efforts to help ensure that city voters support consolidation in a November referendum, Fralin said.
The members include several well-known lawyers, including Caldwell Butler, a former congressman who is now a partner in the Woods, Rogers and Hazlegrove law firm. Fralin, a Roanoke native, is a 26-year-old lawyer in the same firm who returned to his hometown to practice law.
Other members include Lee Brooks and Chris Orndorff, former co-chairmen of a Jaycees group that led the petition drive two years ago that forced the city and county to come up with a consolidation plan. Finn Pincus, who recently was appointed to the city School Board, is also a member and a co-chairman of the group.
Fralin said the city group will work with a pro-consolidation organization recently formed in the county, but each will run a separate campaign because it has a different constituency.
Citizens United for Progress has about 70 members, but Fralin said it hopes to attract more members and financial contributions to help finance its campaign. Anyone interested in joining the committee or making a contribution can contact it at P.O. Box 1172, Roanoke 24006-1172.
The organization has not established a fund-raising goal, Fralin said, but he added, "It's going to take teamwork and some money."
Like himself, Fralin said many of the group's members grew up in Roanoke and want to see the valley reach its potential.
"We're tired of hearing people cite the population growth of Raleigh, Charlotte and other cities in the region, while we have to admit our hometown's population is relatively unchanged."
The group favors growth "not for the sake of growth, but for what growth brings with it - job opportunities for people who want to return to their hometown after college and for their children as well as leisure time activities," he said.
by CNB