Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 1, 1992 TAG: 9203010127
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHELLE RILEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Country music played in the background, and people were all around, smiling, talking and making deals.
Very few were actually there for the candidate's 30-second speech. The most attentive were Bishop's wife, Donna, and his aunt, Jackie Dooley. His 4-year-old daughter, Rachel, played nearby, but appeared more interested in her dolls.
Bishop launched his political career not from the steps of city hall or at a hotel ballroom, but at booth 33 of Happy's Flea Market, which he has rented for his campaign headquarters.
That he had to compete with Saturday afternoon bargain hunters didn't seem to faze Bishop, security supervisor at Dominion Tower. "Roanoke needs someone who does not want to be one of the elite few that run the city, but someone who allows the citizens of Roanoke to run their city through them. I am that someone," Bishop said in his announcement.
He said he isn't running because he's fed up with some council actions or because he has a different agenda from the other council candidates.
"Most of the candidates are looking for the same things I'm looking for," Bishop said. "We need to improve city schools, bring outside business in and do something with the Hotel Roanoke.
"I'm looking to bring back . . . the old-fashioned politician, the politician that turns to the voters to make the decisions."
That's one reason Bishop chose to run his campaign from the flea market. "I wanted to be where the people that would vote for me were," he said. "I want to bring the working class to City Council."
To do this, Bishop said he wants to work with the media to encourage more publicity about council's day-to-day activities. "You don't know what's going on unless you're attending the meetings or unless it's a major issue," he said.
Bishop said he was thinking about putting in a phone line and answering machine that would tell constituents about council's latest actions.
Before Bishop can get his name on the May 5 ballot, he has to collect, by Tuesday, the signatures of 125 registered city voters.
When he made his announcement at noon, he had 28 signatures, 13 from Happy's customers. Bishop said that although about 50 people came by his booth each hour, most either were not city residents or not registered to vote.
And his campaign headquarters is pretty hard to find.
"People just don't come back this far," Bishop said.
But the people who signed his petition said they liked the idea behind Bishop's candidacy.
"He's more down-to-earth and in touch with the people," said Ronald Hodges, who said he goes to Happy's almost every weekend.
Hodges, 40, also said he didn't think that the flea market headquarters was unusual. "I think he's got more common sense than some of [the other six candidates] have got."
Bishop, confident that he will get all the required signatures, said that he will be at Happy's every weekend to talk to voters and answer questions.
And he said he'll keep encouraging other city residents to register to vote because, "The only way you can improve things is to get involved."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB