Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 17, 1993 TAG: 9310170163
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Edwards, a longtime worker in the Democratic Party who ran for Congress last year, appears to have votes to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr.
Unless some council members change their minds, Edwards probably will be the choice, a council member and other sources said. They would talk only if they were not identified.
Edwards would not discuss the vacancy Saturday, but he would not deny that he's being considered for the post.
"It's up to council. I would be honored to be considered, but it's their decision," he said.
Mayor David Bowers would neither confirm nor deny that Edwards is the prime candidate.
"John Edwards would be an excellent choice. Council is narrowing its choices," Bowers said.
Council is expected to make the appointment Oct. 25. It will not meet Monday, because several members will be attending the Virginia Municipal League's annual conference.
The Democratic majority on council is inclined to choose a Democrat to keep its 5-2 margin. The Democrats disagree on some issues, but they apparently are united on Edwards.
The two Republicans on council are Elizabeth Bowles and Delvis "Mac" McCadden.
Like Fitzpatrick, Edwards, 49, comes from a well-known Roanoke family. Both of their fathers were judges.
Edwards' father, Richard, was judge of the Roanoke Hustings Court from 1964 until his death in 1968.
The elder Edwards also was mayor of Roanoke from 1946 to 1948 and a council member from 1946 to 1950. He was mayor when council members, not the voters, chose the mayor for a two-year term.
Like Fitzpatrick, Edwards has closer ties to Roanoke's traditional Democratic establishment than to the populists and union activists who have increased their influence in the party in recent years.
Edwards has been been involved in community and political affairs for two decades.
Last year, he sought the Democratic nomination for Congress for the 6th District, but he lost in a three-way contest with Steve Musselwhite and John Fishwick Jr. Musselwhite won the nomination, but he lost to Republican Bob Goodlatte.
Edwards was U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 1980 to 1982 and was replaced after Ronald Reagan became president.
He has been a member of the Roanoke Civic Center Commission for eight years and was chairman for two years.
Council must fill the vacancy by Nov. 15. Fitzpatrick's resignation was effective Friday. He quit to become director of the New Century Council, which seeks to form a vision for economic development in the Roanoke and New River valleys.
When council began deliberations on choosing a successor to Fitzpatrick, it was working with a list of a dozen potential candidates that included both Republicans and Democrats. Among those on the list were former Mayor Noel Taylor and former council members James Trout and Bob Garland.
by CNB