Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 2, 1995 TAG: 9511020051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Republicans need win only one of two races Tuesday for that to happen: Graybill against Loope, or Republican Art Pendleton against Democratic incumbent Wendy Wingo in the Blue Ridge District.
But Loope says partisan politics have little bearing on the way Botetourt County is run.
During the four years he has served as a supervisor, Loope doesn't recall any party-line votes.
"Local issues that we deal with are not like what you see" on the state level, he said.
One of the issues that has been a bipartisan effort for the Board of Supervisors, the Greenfield development project, is also one of the hottest issues in each supervisor's race.
But only one of the candidates, Graybill, actually has opposed the proposed 922-acre development project.
"I am not totally sold on Greenfield," Graybill said. "I'm a Republican who believes in a free enterprise system. I don't think the government should be the landlord."
Graybill argues that private enterprise could run such developments more efficiently.
"The government cannot because of waste and poor judgement," he said.
Graybill stands alone on that issue, even among other Republican candidates.
"In a perfect world, I would agree [with Graybill]," said Pendleton, vice president for operations at Roanoke Gas Co., but private investors would not have the economic advantages that the county would in developments such as Greenfield.
The county would not have to pay the taxes private investors would, he says, and the county could better manage infrastructure and other aspects of the development.
Loope says private enterprise couldn't generate the amount of industrial growth Botetourt County has had in recent years.
"If the government were not involved in the recruitment of industry, we would not have the industry we have," Loope said, using the example of the Arkay Packaging Corp. plant in the county's EastPark Commerce Center, which he says could have gone to North Carolina or Tennessee if the county had not offered economic incentives to the company.
"You have to work to recruit these things," Loope said.
Wingo says she thinks the county should manage growth "to the betterment of the citizens."
"I think we owe it to our citizens," she said. "I think we can manage it in a way our private citizens cannot do."
Education is another common issue in both contests.
In the Blue Ridge District, Wingo is seeking her third term. She says part of her success there is because of strong interaction with the community, such as monthly meetings at the Blue Ridge Public Library.
Wingo continues to focus on her background as an educator. The Roanoke City school teacher says she wants to bring the county's teacher salaries up to the state average and keep introducing technology into the schools with programs like the fiber-optic teaching television system introduced in Botetourt County high schools this year.
But Wingo's opponent, Pendleton, says more responsibility should be placed on the School Board for such projects.
"The Board of Supervisors can't try to micromanage" the School Board, Pendleton said. "Let's put the responsibility there, and let the Board of Supervisors concentrate on other issues."
Wingo believes the School Board already has that responsibility and has been efficient.
"Actually, we work with the School Board," she said.
All candidates agree they would like to see a reduced student-to-teacher ratio in Botetourt County schools.
Pendleton says he would also like to see a reduced employee-to-teacher ratio.
"What percent [of employees] are actually in the classroom?'' he asked.
On the issue of school facilities, Loope says he has been part of a lot of building during his four-year tenure, noting such projects as the construction of Cloverdale Middle School and renovations to James River High School.
Graybill has also drawn attention to such projects, but he thinks they could have been handled better, particularly the site selection for Cloverdale Middle School, which will open in 1996.
The school, he says, is landlocked in the residential community where it was built and already faces threats from overcrowding. He says the board could have selected a better site if it had acted sooner.
"They've been debating this thing since 1988," Graybill said.
The only uncontested candidate, Republican Bonnie Mayo, was elected last November to fill an unexpired term.
She says a Republican-controlled Board of Supervisors wouldn't make much difference on some local issues. However, she thinks Republicans would do more to limit the size of county government.
"Our budget keeps increasing, and the size of government keeps increasing," Mayo said. "As Republicans, we have a tendency to look at that."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB