Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270093
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
It's an unglamorous speciality, but one Gorman knows well. The first-term Democrat wants to keep up the work: he's seeking re-election to Blacksburg's District G seat.
Facing Gorman, a figure in local government since the 1960s, is political newcomer Curtis Cox. The Republican candidate is a midnight-shift machinist who recognizes the long odds. "It is a Democratic district. We all know that," Cox said.
"It's obviously an uphill campaign. Joe is better known," he said.
Trash disposal, education, library expansion, long-range planning and protecting water resources have been Gorman's concerns. He sees the county's use of a regional solution to garbage as a model. In late 1993, after nearly two years of looking at building its own new landfill, the county started negotiations with other localities. Those talks culminated in the founding of the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority last year.
Made up of the county, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Virginia Tech, the authority took control of the landfill in July and now is seeking an arrangement with the New River Resource Authority to join in on its new landfill in Pulaski County. Meanwhile, it is building a regional recycling center in Christiansburg.
Gorman said one of the board members' biggest accomplishments in the past four years has been teamwork, both among each other and with other local governments. He cites the 1993 Route 177 Corridor Agreement with Radford (which splits tax revenue from growth in return for avoiding an annexation fight); cost-sharing with Blacksburg for recreational facilities at the new Kipps Elementary School; and cooperation with Christiansburg to develop the new Falling Branch industrial park.
"I really think our future is going to have to be intergovernmental relations and infrastructure development," Gorman said.
For all those team-oriented wins, Gorman has been on the losing side a few times. He and fellow Blacksburg-area Supervisor Jim Moore are often the two in 5-2 board votes on controversial land-use and school-funding issues. The majority is typically skeptical of both new planning initiatives and new school spending. Sometimes that results in frustrations.
Normally a self-effacing fellow, Gorman has a temper that can surface. Last year, in particular, he and fellow Democrat Ira Long clashed on occasion, though they've been civil for most of this year.
The December 1993 downfall of the open-space plan still rankles. Gorman and Moore were its lone advocates. "We did not properly inform the public about what it was all about," Gorman said. "The thing that defeated it was landowners' rights. Yet landowners' rights ... were all addressed as part of the plan."
Gorman also has focused on the link between growth and public utilities. He's a critic of permitting major new subdivisions in rural areas without public utilities in place or planned to support them. The county eventually may have to spend millions to build sewer lines that catch up with growth, should septic systems fail, he says.
Last year, Supervisor Nick Rush and Gorman stood on opposite sides when there was talk of requiring a developer to hook into Christiansburg's sewer system from Mud Pike. Gorman lost.
"The fact that they didn't require water and sewer was a mistake," Gorman said. "My feeling is that if you do it right the first time, then you won't have to redo it."
Gorman represents the most densely populated part of Montgomery. Originally from Lynchburg, he came to Blacksburg in the 1940s as a Virginia Tech student, then returned after service in the Army to a 40-year career with the former Hercules Aerospace Co. at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. When he retired, he was the manager of international and development programs. He served on the Blacksburg Town Council in the 1960s and '70s.
Cox, a lifelong resident who grew up on a Mount Tabor Road farm, works the midnight shift at Wolverine Gasket Co. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to Abraham Lincoln. It's a likeness Cox cultivates by dressing like the 16th president - stovepipe hat and all - for special occasions, and for a newspaper advertisement earlier this month (when he invoked the image of a second cultural icon, a recruitment poster Uncle Sam, something he termed a "simple little piece of parody").
Though he reminds one of the very image of Republicanism, his politics are local. He recognizes that spending for public education is the No. 1 issue. "In District G, you don't support public education, you're not going to get elected." At an Oct. 12 campaign forum, he said he'd support a tax increase "if we needed it to get the money for education."
Cox has been trying to get across the message that he will ask people in the district what they want, then strive to represent them. He also put a premium earlier in the campaign on combating apathy by getting people to register to vote.
"I came out with the intention of giving Joe a contest, so he'd be a little more enthusiastic about the campaign than he would having not had a good challenger," Cox said at the forum.
Though he's a skilled laborer and not a manager, Cox said he'd fit in well on the county's governing board. That's because he's learned much through Wolverine's employee participation programs, and could bring the total-quality management approach to local government. Applying that model, workers learn to solve problems by looking at root causes, finding the most effective solutions and measuring to keep track of the results of changes, Cox said.
"Joe is the one with the administrative experience, but I'm a pretty decent organizer myself," Cox said. "This is an organizational technique and methodology that is very universal and very effective."
He said that being from the blue-collar world makes him more accessible to people, and that executive- and college-faculty types he meets are impressed by his vocabulary. Known since childhood by the nickname "Skeebo," he's articulate, quick and, at times, funny.
"Me personally, I don't take real seriously," Cox said. "The things I do, I do take seriously."
He also takes his religion very seriously - he's a member of the Slussers Chapel Church of God, located next door to the home where he grew up. "The time has come for men of Christ to step out and speak out for the kingdom of God and not make excuses or apologize for having done so," he writes to explain why he's running for office. "Much of the reason for this campaign is to do this very thing."
That campaign, such as it is, has been as quiet as the other two contested supervisors races this fall.
"I'm being realistic. This is not what I see as a real personal battle," Cox said. "Joe and I are both good men. I feel like either one of us would be a good representative."
Name: Joseph V. "Joe" Gorman Jr.
Age: 66
Occupation: Retired from Hercules Aerospace Co., Radford Army Ammunition Plant, after 40 years.
Education : B.S. in forestry and wildlife conservation, Virginia Tech
Family: Jeanette Colona Gorman, wife.
Community Involvement: New River Highlands Resource Conservation and Development Council, Montgomery County Forestry and Wildlife Association, Blacksburg branch library building committee, Blacksburg Country Club, Loyal Order of Moose, member of St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Why are you running for office? "I believe I have the time, desire and knowledge to serve the citizens of District G as their representative on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.
What is the most important issue facing Montgomery County? "Funding to meet the future needs of Montgomery County for educational facilities and staff, water, sewer and solid waste management.
And why? "The impending reduction of state and federal funds to support their mandated service deliveries will force the local governments to fund these services from other resources."
Name: Curtis R. Cox
Age: 41
Occupation: Machinist, toolmaker, Wolverine Gasket Co.
Education : Blacksburg High School graduate
Family: Parents Robert Lee and Alma Cox; son, Curtis Ray Cox Jr.
Community Involvement: Slussers Chapel Church of God; Mount Tabor Nursery School and Day Care Center; Springdale Terrace Homeowners Association; Improved Order of Redmen
Why are you running for office? "The time has come for men of Christ to step out and speak out for the kingdom of God and not make excuses or apologize for having done so. Much of the reason for this campaign is to do this very thing. I am a Christian and hope to encourage other Christians to publicly profess their trust in Christ."
What is the most important issue facing Montgomery County? "There are too many critical issues to limit this response to only one. It is urgent however to find more efficient, more effective and more economical means to fund the services of local government that the citizens of this county have come to expect."
And why? "Our state and federal legislatures are currently involved in reducing the size and scope of their budgets and programs. This in turn reduces the support for localities from the state and federal funds. In as much as Montgomery County is emerging as a regional hub of employment, education and commerce, I would support requesting provision from the state legislature to allow the county government to assess some forms of sales taxes or other sources of revenue. Currently the county residents bear a disproportionate burden for the cost of services of which many people that are not residents of Montgomery share the benefits."
Keywords:
POLITICS PROFILE
by CNB