Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 1, 1994 TAG: 9403010139
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Roanoke voters get a once-in-26-years chance to pick the Democratic candidates for City Council today when the party throws open to the public a test of strength between its old guard and an upstart faction of unions, teachers, gays and self-styled "progressives."
But the primary campaign has been largely an underground affair waged by phone banks and mailing lists, so it's anybody's guess just how many Roanokers will take the opportunity to vote.
Most estimates figure about 5,000 of the city's 41,000 registered voters will show up between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. to cast their ballots in the first Democratic primary for Roanoke City Council candidates since 1968.
By election standards, that would be a light turnout - but still more than twice as many people as jammed the William Fleming High School gymnasium two years ago when Democrats held a mass meeting to nominate council candidates.
"A lot depends on the weather," says Al Wilson, the Roanoke Democratic chairman, one ear cocked toward a forecast that calls for rain. "I figure even with bad weather, we may have at least as many people as participated in the mass meeting two years ago. If the weather holds till afternoon, you'll see a pretty significant turnout."
Technically, there are two elections going on today.
The sharpest focus has been on the race for the shortest term - the two years remaining on the seat that Beverly Fitzpatrick resigned last fall to head the New Century Council, a regional planning group.
Incumbent Jimmy Harvey is backed by party leaders, while school teacher Linda Wyatt's candidacy has become the rallying point for the newly formed Progressive Democratic Coalition, a group of increasingly restive party liberals.
Harvey, hoping to capitalize on his superior name recognition and his 10-to-1 advantage in campaign fund raising, has waged the most public campaign of any of the candidates. He has taken to the radio airwaves with ads stressing how he is "heading up the Hotel Roanoke project" and his support for low taxes.
By contrast, Wyatt has quietly made use of phone banks and mailings to identify likely supporters among the coalition's key constituencies, many of whom want a greater say in city affairs.
The winner will face Republican businessman John Voit in the general election May 3 - but the Harvey-Wyatt contest could have repercussions beyond this campaign cycle.
"I think some people do perceive this as a pivotal election, in terms of where the party is going to go," says Gary Waldo, a staff member of the Roanoke Education Association and a key leader of the liberal coalition.
"If Linda's showing is good - that would mean winning her race - I think what that's going to do is increase the credibility of the [Progressive Democratic Coalition] and encourage the PDC to get behind candidates in the council races of 1996," he says.
Waldo even suggested that some party liberals are so disgruntled with Mayor David Bowers, whom they strongly backed for nomination in 1992, that "I would not foreclose the possibility that Mayor Bowers may have a challenge within his own party" when he comes up for re-election in 1996.
Even party regulars concede that the liberal coalition is likely to remain active in Roanoke Democratic politics, win or lose today. "They're still going to have a voice," says Wilson, who won a hotly-contested battle for the party chairmanship in December over a coalition-backed candidate.
Meanwhile, four candidates are trying to squeeze into the remaining three spots on the Democratic ticket: incumbents William White and John Edwards, former councilman Jim Trout and school board member Nelson Harris.
The factions here are more difficult to sort out - for one thing, the Progressive Democratic Coalition says it's staying out of the full-term races. However, most conventional wisdom gives an edge to White and Edwards on name recognition alone, with the veteran Trout and newcomer Harris battling it out for the final spot.
That ranking seemed confirmed over the weekend, when Harris singled out Trout, attacking him for benefitting from the city's controversial 2-for-1 pension plan for council members and top administrators.
At least one of the three winners of the Edwards-Harris-Trout-White contest appears to be guaranteed victory in the May election.
So far, Republicans have nominated only two candidates for the three seats that will be up for grabs - construction engineer John Parrott and South Roanoke neighborhood activist Barbara Duerk - and the deadline to fill the last spot on the GOP ticket is today.
For now, though, the Democrats' biggest opposition isn't the Republicans, it's confusion - and the weather.
"It's been 25 years since we've had a primary for City Council, and people aren't familiar with the primary system," Wilson says. "There's been a need to educate people."
That education has been at the most basic level. Much of Harvey's radio ad, for instance, consists of reminding voters that all they need to do is show up at their regular voting place.
The weather has also been on the minds of Democratic campaign workers.
The National Weather Service is calling for rain throughout the day - and all sides agree that could play havoc with turnout.
"Bad weather can keep people at home," Waldo says. "You never know whether it's your people or their people. If it's their people, it's OK. If it's your people, it a problem. I'm concerned about it. I spent a great deal of the time over the weekend watching The Weather Channel."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB