Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160122
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN AND PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Four-term Commonwealth's Attorney Everett Shockley will have competition from Democrat Byron Shankman. Ralph Dobbins, a Democrat completing his first four-year term as sheriff, will be opposed by Norman Dowdy, a state trooper retiring after 30 years to run as the Republican nominee.
Two newcomers are vying for the seat being vacated by Massie District Supervisor Mason Vaughan. Former Sheriff Frank Conner, 60, who retired in 1990 after 30 years in law enforcement, will represent the Democrats, and Andy McCready, 36, the chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals and county GOP vice chairman, will run for the Republicans.
The other contest will be in the Draper District, where one-term Republican Ira ``Pete'' Crawford will face Democrat Charles Cook, a political newcomer.
Republicans held their mass meeting at the county courts building, where each candidate for nomination was allowed to speak for three minutes. Down the road at the Pulaski County Administration Building, Democrats nominated their slate of candidates en masse after each spoke briefly.
Shockley reflected on how quickly his 16 years of prosecuting have passed and pledged to continue being a voice for victims of crime and for the county's residents. He said he would continue working closely with law enforcement and vigorously prosecuting drug dealers.
``People want something done when crimes are committed, and I'll be there for you,'' Shockley said.
Shankman pledged to work hard for the administration of justice in Pulaski County, and said he would need help from fellow Democrats in getting out the vote to take on an incumbent. ``I thought about it for a long time before I decided I should be the one to do this,'' the Dublin lawyer said.
Dobbins said accomplishments during his term as sheriff included creating space for female inmates, reducing prisoner transport time to other localities substantially, expanding work shifts for better coverage, and starting an anti-drug program for young people.
Dowdy, 60, promised an open-door policy if elected sheriff and stressed that he needed the Republican Party's support to unseat Dobbins.
McCready, the GOP's Massie District candidate, presented himself as a businessman who could help bring more economic development prospects to the county. He is president of McCready Lumber, Wurno Warehouses and Pulaski Post and Timber.
``This race is going to come down to experience,'' he said, adding that he would ``work equally hard to ensure that we get more jobs and a diverse job base here.''
Conner, the former Democrat sheriff, said anyone who did not think the sheriff's office was a business had another thought coming.
He said he had been in public service since entering the military at 18, and believed his time as sheriff and six years with the Department of Corrections provided plenty of business experience.
Robinson Tract Supervisor Jerry White and Ingles District Supervisor Bruce Fariss are unopposed, as is Cloyd District Supervisor Joe Sheffey. Also unopposed are Commissioner of Revenue Maynard Sayers, a Republican in his fifth term, and Treasurer Rose Marie Tickle, a Democrat completing her second term.
White, Fariss and Crawford all said the record of economic development during their Republican majority on the board had been successful in holding the line on taxes, keeping Volvo-GM Heavy Truck Corp. in the county and otherwise promoting industry.
Cook, a Burlington Industries management employee for 28 years and now self-employed in the floral and storage rental business, said he felt that he was more of a ``people person'' than Crawford.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB