Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 29, 1993 TAG: 9401140020
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
You see, anyone who knows how Roanoke County's government works also knows that your characterizations of Lee Eddy and Bob Johnson fail to convey to the public the real impacts these two men have on that government.
We would love to have a county government led by people who are honest, competent and respectful toward those they supposedly represent. We want people in office who work for the interests of all parts of the community, not profiteers who focus on ways they and their developer colleagues can use local government to further their schemes. The re-election of Eddy to the board will be a great step in that direction. The election of Brenda Wainwright and the elimination of Johnson from county government, for now and evermore, would also help such a dream become reality.
This paper and others have criticized Eddy for digging deeply into the issues brought before the board. Apparently you think he should be off ``visioning'' somewhere, rather than learning the facts and figures of county government. We citizens appreciate the fact that a man who was elected to help lead county government, and who is payed to do just that, seems to take that responsibility seriously.
Further, the obvious lack of attention to duty shown by Roanoke County Administrator Elmer Hodge makes Eddy's efforts all the more necessary. Articles in this paper have shown how poorly Hodge is looking after citizens' interests, through his refusal to enforce erosion- and sediment-control ordinances and his complicity with Len Boone and his Blue Ridge Parkway development gang. Hodge is too busy harassing citizens to do his job correctly.
Johnson exemplifies the worst features of our government. His arrogance and disrespect for citizens provides an example that is followed by some of his colleagues on the board and by the county administrator.
Your editorial notes that Johnson is a real-estate developer. You say this obviously makes him interested in a healthy economy for the region. Who among us is not interested in having a healthy economy for this part of the state? Ms. Wainwright is the owner and operator of a small business, who would obviously care just as much as Johnson about having a decent economy in the county.
The difference is that Ms. Wainwright would apparently have the wisdom and long-term vision to question projects proposed for the county, and not spend huge amounts of our money without being clear on the need or appropriateness of those expenditures. The Spring Hollow Reservoir is an example of a Roanoke County boondoggle that might have been avoided - had Eddy found some allies on the board when the issue came up.
Johnson and Garrett are eager to vote for big-name projects that they can brag about in later campaigns. They know that wide-eyed boosters of growth at any cost, like the editors of this paper, will grade their leadership skills based on the amount of money spent and the project's size in comparison to those built by other communities. They also know that such projects can help justify their push for dense development of every inch of this county, over the objections of the majority of residents.
DARRELL F. BRANSTETTER
ROANOKE
by CNB