Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060563
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
3 SALEM COUNCILMEN ANNOUNCE PLANS TO SEEK RE-ELECTION IN MAY
Three incumbent Salem City Council members announced Tuesday that they will seek re-election in May.Mayor James E. Taliaferro, 56, will seek a sixth four-year term on council. Taliaferro, president of Salem Contracting Co., first was elected to council 20 years ago. He has been mayor for 18 1/2 years.
Taliaferro said he strongly considered not entering the race and decided only this week that he would run again.
"I had a lot of pressure to run, not from thousands of people but some people who felt very strongly about it," he said. "I've never had so many people interested in whether I ran or didn't run."
Taliaferro cited tough economic conditions as one reason for seeking re-election.
"I feel I can lend some expanse and knowledge to maintaining cash flows and safeguarding our finances," he said. "We're going to face a pretty flat economy."
Alex M. Brown, 39, is seeking a fourth term on council. A Realtor, Brown has been on council since 1980.
"I feel like we're going to have some rough sledding in the next two years," Brown said of his decision to run again. "We need some continuity on council in this time to get us over the rough spots."
Howard Packett, 59, is seeking his third term. Packett, president of the Edmonds-Packett Group Inc. and chairman of the Fifth Planning District Commission, has been on council since 1984.
"I've enjoyed being on council," Packett said. "I've served for 7 1/2 years, and I can't think of any better people to serve with."
The incumbents - all running as independents - are the first to announce candidacies for the May 5 council election. The deadline for candidates to submit the required petitions and paperwork to the city registrar's office is March 3 at 7 p.m.
Keywords:
POLITICS