
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992                   TAG: 9203100310
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LYNCHBURG BLACK GROUP GOES TO FISHWICK

Twice in the past two weeks, John Fishwick has raided John Edwards' turf to snare endorsements in their three-way race for the Democratic nomination for Congress.

First, Fishwick won over some Roanoke Valley transportation unions that decided to go against the state AFL-CIO's endorsement of Edwards.

Next, the Lynchburg Voters League - a black group that can wield enormous power in Hill City elections - endorsed Fishwick. The league's endorsement last week was a coup for Fishwick, because its president is Mayor M.W. Thornhill, who had appeared at Edwards' side the day the Roanoke lawyer announced his candidacy in January.

Now, Thornhill says he'll back Fishwick.

"I have to go with the majority," Thornhill says. "An overwhelming majority said Fishwick. Nothing personal. I voted for Edwards. Most of the time I win. This was one of the few times in my political life I didn't."

The support of the Lynchburg Voters League appears to give Fishwick an important wedge in securing a big chunk of Lynchburg's delegates, a city that is 26 percent black and which sends the third-biggest delegation to the state convention.

"Normally a Voters League endorsement is very significant," says Louise Cunningham, a former Lynchburg Democratic activist who now sits on the state Alcohol Beverage Control board.

But the group's leverage could be diminished because instead of a mass meeting, where organized groups can exercise their influence through parliamentary tactics and the scrutiny of public voting, Lynchburg Democrats will hold a "firehouse primary," similar to an actual primary.

by CNB