Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 25, 1993 TAG: 9305250526
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He once was dead set against the living-history park.
Then he became a booster.
He changed his mind again, calling Explore a "white elephant."
Then he voted for the county budget that included $100,000 for Explore.
No wonder some people in the Catawba District are not sure where he stands.
Kohinke has spent the past two weeks defending his vote on the budget and trying to dispel the perception that he flip-flops on issues.
"While I may appear to be a chameleon to you," he wrote to one constituent, "I'm simply being a good politician looking out for my district."
In an interview, Kohinke acknowledged that he has left himself open to the appearance of waffling.
"I have a lot of people mad at me," he said. "I even had one person call me up and say he's sorry he voted for me and that he doesn't want me on his property any more."
Kohinke thinks he has taken a bum rap. The retired Navy officer said actions that may appear wishy-washy actually have been his attempt to flush out public opinion.
Earlier this year, for instance, Kohinke was quoted in the newspaper saying he might cast the swing vote to kill a plan to raise the county tax on motel room charges.
Kohinke said he made the statement in hopes that it would generate feedback from his constituents.
But no one called, which Kohinke interpreted to mean that people in his district did not care about the motel tax because it would fall mainly on tourists.
He ended up voting for the motel tax.
"That's how I get into trouble," he said. "They read in the paper and say, `Oh, he's against that.' Then when they see me do something different, they think I've betrayed them somehow, when I haven't."
Kohinke, a self-described political novice, said he should have realized voters would lose their patience if he changed positions after floating trial balloons.
"I don't know if I'll try that trick again," he said.
Kohinke, a 48-year-old Republican, is in the second year of his four-year term on the Board of Supervisors.
He and his wife, a psychiatrist, moved to the Roanoke Valley in 1985 after she got a job at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem. They lived in North Lakes for three years, then moved to Bradshaw.
As president of the Mason Cove Civic League, Kohinke helped lead the unsuccessful effort to keep the new regional landfill out of the Bradshaw Road area. He also fought the proposed consolidation of Roanoke and Roanoke County.
In 1991, he campaigned door-to-door to defeat Democrat Jack Tompkins and win the Catawba seat vacated by Steve McGraw, who ran a successful campaign for clerk of court.
Fellow Republican Supervisor Lee Eddy declined to comment on Kohinke's performance, but said it takes anyone time to grow into the position.
"Anytime someone comes on the Board of Supervisors it takes a while for them to get a feel for the job," Eddy said. "That's just natural."
But Supervisor Bob Johnson, a Democrat, said he has given up trying to figure out where Kohinke stands.
"The man is kind of an enigma to me," Johnson said. "I don't understand him. Do I know where he stands? Not until the last person is through talking to him."
Kohinke made a highly visible flip-flop at one of his first meetings as a supervisor.
In February 1992, Kohinke cast the deciding vote to drop the county's "notice of protest" to a 765-kilovolt power line Appalachian Power Co. wants to run through Catawba and across Fort Lewis Mountain.
His vote outraged power-line opponents, who counted Kohinke an ally in the fight against the line.
Admitting he "flubbed" the vote, Kohinke announced a week later that he would switch his vote and try to revive the county's notice of protest with the State Corporation Commission.
Unable to persuade his colleagues to reconsider the vote, Kohinke had to settle for a toothless resolution expressing the board's "concern" about the power line.
Kohinke has gone through similar gyrations on Explore.
Before he joined the board, Kohinke was firmly against what was then envisioned as an ambitious theme park built around Virginia's role in the opening of the interior of the United States.
He became a supporter in 1991, after he was appointed to a county advisory panel that issued a glowing report on the potential economic benefits of Explore.
Four months ago, Kohinke joined with a 3-2 majority in voting for $350,000 to improve a section of Rutrough Road to help open Explore to the general public next year.
In a Feb. 1 memo, Kohinke bemoaned the fact that Explore had "limped" through on a one-vote margin when the board had a chance to show "that we really mean business."
By April, his support again turned to skepticism.
He was swayed by a poll that showed little public support for tourism-related ventures such as Explore. It also was becoming clear that plans had scaled back to the point that, at least for the near future, Explore would not generate tens of thousands of dollars in county tax revenue. In fact, Explore wanted an additional $100,000 from the county.
Kohinke announced that he saw no reason to invest taxpayer money in Explore if there was no return in sight. "They are going to have to do some pretty fancy talking to convince me otherwise," he said.
Before the board considered the 1993-94 county budget, Kohinke urged that a separate vote be taken on the $100,000 for Explore.
But Kohinke did not press for a separate vote when the board considered the budget on May 12. And he voted for the budget that included $100,000 for Explore.
He has spent the past two weeks explaining why he let the Explore money pass after making such a fuss about it.
Kohinke has assured constituents that the money for Explore would come from taxes paid by motel guests, not county residents.
He has explained he voted for the budget because it contained money for schools and other projects in the Catawba District.
Kohinke says he has learned his lesson. He is going to stop airing tentative views to flush out public opinion. He is going to keep his mouth shut and his fax machine off until he makes up his mind for good.
"When I can, I'm not going to take a stand until I have to; and, when I do, I'll try to stick with it because [not doing so] bothers people too much.
"I guess for public appearance sake you have to take a stand and stick with it."
After the interview, Kohinke faxed the newspaper a copy of a "Dear Catawba District Resident" letter he has been circulating at his own expense.
In it, Kohinke - who had called Explore a "white elephant" in a letter to his constituents on May 4 - defended the county's recent $450,000 investment in the project.
"The bottom line: Explore has been the county's No. 1 economic development project for several years now . . . . With a financial `shove' from us at this point it may just succeed and be a real boon to the whole Valley."
by CNB