Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 8, 1993 TAG: 9311080226
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
\ Dale Allen knows about plant closings and hard economic times.
He can empathize with hundreds of people in the Roanoke Valley who have lost their jobs because of the sour economy.
Allen was a boy growing up in Southeast Roanoke when the American Viscose plant closed in 1958, putting nearly 2,000 people out of work.
The fathers of many of his friends lost their jobs. The area around the plant was almost deserted.
"We used to play ball in Ninth Street [near the Viscose plant] when nobody but city transit buses would come out," he said.
Allen's childhood memories have helped shape his attitude and outlook on the city and its economic vitality.
And they are part of the reason he is heading an effort to field a slate of independent, nonpartisan candidates for Roanoke City Council in the May election.
Allen, 44, sees parallels between the Viscose closing and the loss of jobs in the city in the past year.
"I'm seeing and hearing some of the same moaning and groaning that was heard then," he said. "I hear people complaining about telemarketing jobs, but they are better than [being unemployed]."
City leaders and residents should stop wringing their hands over what has happened, he said. "Nothing will happen until we get out of this hangdog attitude. We have a lot to feel good about, but we have a lot of work to do."
And no longer can city residents entrust their economic future to the same "brain trust" of older business and community leaders who have guided the city for many years, he said.
It's time for a younger generation of leaders to step forward and provide leadership, he said.
Many people in Action '94, the name of the group that hopes to run a nonpartisan slate, are in their 30s and 40s.
Allen said there are similarities between the new group and Roanoke Forward, a business-backed organization that fielded a nonpartisan slate for council in the mid-1970s and won all seven seats.
Like Roanoke Forward, the new group hopes to focus on issues affecting the valley's future and support candidates who share its views. But there are significant differences between the groups, he said.
"We are hoping our effort will be as broad a cross-section of the community as possible. We don't want to be seen as a patriarchal organization," he said. "I think that was the perception of Roanoke Forward, but it may not have been reality."
The 11-member executive committee for Action '94 includes businessmen, women, blacks, a public-housing resident, lawyers and other professional people.
Allen, a bookkeeper and computer consultant, said the group hopes to expand its base as it begins organizing.
Allen himself enhances the group's image as a grass-roots movement.
"I'm a total Roanoke product. I went to school at Morningside Elementary, Jackson Junior and Jefferson High," he said. Allen joined the Navy and returned to Roanoke after his tour of duty.
He attended Virginia Western Community College and worked for Appalachian Power Co. for five years before getting into sales work. He still lives in Southeast Roanoke, and is president of the Southeast Action Forum.
Allen helped organize the protest over the proposed closing of the First Union branch bank on Ninth Street Southeast, even though his wife works for the bank. She is secretary to Warner Dalhouse, board chairman of First Union National Bank of Virginia. Because of the opposition, the bank decided to keep the branch open.
So what does Allen hope to get out of his effort to run a nonpartisan slate? A seat on City Council?
That's unlikely, he said. He's not sure he would want to run.
Corny as it might sound, Allen said, he got involved in the nonpartisan movement because he wants to give something back to the city.
The movement to field a nonpartisan ticket began as a result of talks among Allen and several friends about the likely turnover on council next year.
"With [Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick's] resignation and the health problems of others, we are concerned about what could happen," Allen said.
The group is concerned about what it perceives to be too much bickering, dissension and controversy on council. It wants to make sure council doesn't get sidetracked in personality clashes or partisan battles.
Allen won't comment on the performance of Mayor David Bowers and other council members, saying it would be premature to get into name-calling before the group develops its issues and a platform.
He does not rule out the possibility that Action '94 might endorse some candidates running on a partisan ticket - if they agree with the group's position on issues.
By starting early to put together a ticket - seven months before the election - the group hopes to gain the attention of potential candidates who might be considering running on a partisan ticket.
"If there is more to gain from our agenda than a party agenda, a candidate would be crazy not to embrace us before the party," Allen said. But "if we don't get going soon, they are not going to be interested in what we do."
He expects both Democrats and Republicans to field slates. But that doesn't daunt him, because he thinks independent candidates could win in a three-way race.
The group's first step will be to identify issues and draft a platform in the next few weeks. Then it will begin recruiting and selecting candidates who agree with its position.
"Until the issues are defined, we can't say who we might support," Allen said.
\ DALE ALLEN
Age: 44.
Hometown: Born in Fincastle, but grew up in Southeast Roanoke, where he has lived since he was a small boy.
Occupation: Bookkeeper and computer consultant; former salesman for office equipment and supplies; medical facilities development.
Education: Virginia Western Community College, associate degree in radio and television production.
Family: Married with a 13-year-old daughter.
Community and Neighborhood: President of the Southeast Action Forum; member of the Neighborhood Partnership Steering Committee.
Quote: "We want to get the views and input of the people as we develop the issues. We don't want Dale Allen's theory of what's wrong with Roanoke."
by CNB