Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 22, 1993 TAG: 9304220236
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROB EURE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WAKEFIELD LENGTH: Medium
As it has for 45 years, the springtime gathering drew its share of Virginia political heavyweights, plus would-be and not-so heavyweights.
Former Gov. Mills Godwin, whose second term in the mid-'70s coincided with when the planking ceased to be an all-white male gathering of Southside Virginia bosses, was there, along with gubernatorial candidates Mary Sue Terry, a Democrat, and Republicans George Allen, Earle Williams and Clint Miller.
The Shad Planking long ago lost its stature as an event at which the old Democratic machine marched out its chosen candidates to greet Southsiders. But it remains a draw for curious, young, suburban professionals and the state's political fraternity, Democrat and Republican.
Each year, the number of old-timers seems to dwindle in comparison to the thirtysomethings who come out to see a museum-piece of the Old Dominion. This year, perhaps encouraging the trend, tickets could be bought with Visa cards over a toll-free 800 phone line.
While the crowd sampled plates of shad, a bone-riddled salty fish tacked on planks and cooked slowly beside a smoldering oak fire, Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg, this year's speaker, delivered a message sure to please the conservative hosts at the event. He railed against President Clinton's budget plans, especially further cuts in military spending - big business in Sisisky's Southside district and nearby Hampton Roads.
Military cuts will hit Southeast Virginia hard, Sisisky said, and Clinton's spending package - killed Wednesday by a hostile Senate - will not make up the difference.
by CNB