Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 18, 1992 TAG: 9202180231
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUCHANAN LENGTH: Medium
MUSSER'S MANAGER BELIEVES IN POLITICIANS
The woman trying to make Howard Musser the next mayor lives 30 miles from the city limits on a dirt road in Botetourt County.But Debbie Jordan is no stranger to Roanoke politics.
For six years, she was legislative aide to former state Sen. Granger Macfarlane, a position that made her a key player in Roanoke Democratic circles.
So she doesn't find it unusual at all that much of the Musser campaign is being coordinated in another county. "I lived in Roanoke City all my life [until she moved to Botetourt in 1978] and if you're involved in politics, you're interested in the system, not just the place you live in," she says.
Jordan, 41, was an office worker when she first got involved in politics two decades ago, partly through her husband, Tommy. (He was active in his railroad union at the time. He's now a supervisor at Norfolk Southern, so he's out of the union, but remains a key Democratic worker. He ran Macfarlane's unsuccessful re-election campaign last fall.)
"When I was a secretary, I'd take vacation days to do political stuff," Jordan says. "One reason I like politics so much is most people think of politicians as these scummy people who are only out for themselves and having been involved at the state level, I know it's not like that. They're really honest and work tremendously hard and really want to help people and are concerned about their constituents."
Once Macfarlane lost, though, Jordan was out of a job. In January she found herself standing in line at the Virginia Employment Commission. Behind her was another victim of November: former Roanoke County Sheriff Mike Kavanaugh.
Keywords:
POLITICS