ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
A PROFESSOR has surfaced to challenge Virgil Goode for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 5th District.
Virgil Goode won't be the only candidate on the ballot when 5th District Democrats choose their congressional nominee in May.
Edwin Powell, a Mecklenburg County professor who teaches in Northern Virginia, hopes his youth, freshness and message can sway convention delegates to vote for him.
Powell, 29, has never run for elected office.
"I'm not a weathered politician," he said. "I'm just a plain ol' country boy - a common person standing up for a common-sense approach to solving our problems."
Powell uses himself as an example of his top campaign issue: More jobs.
He's a psychology and sociology professor at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria.
He makes the trip from his Chase City house once a week, stays in Alexandria for three days, then returns home for the rest of the week.
"We need to bring more quality jobs to the district," Powell said, "so people don't have to go somewhere else."
The candidate says he has an idea to create more jobs: More exports.
With today's global marketplace, developing business opportunities with foreign countries should become a priority, he said, because "we're always buying more overseas than we're selling."
"This area has had a lack economic policy. We haven't been user friendly," he said. "We play catch up."
Powell also said the farmers in the 5th District should be protected against increased taxes and government regulations, and more money needs to be spent on education.
"We need more educational instruction, not prison construction," he said.
Powell says he sees himself as an alternative to Goode.
Goode, a state senator from Rocky Mount, has name recognition, but he's also come under fire from some Democrats because he orchestrated a historic power-sharing pact with his Republican counterparts in the Senate this year.
Democrats had controlled the chamber since the turn of the century.
Goode's voting record - which has endeared him to voters in his home county of Franklin - is more conservative than those of some Republican legislators.
Goode's actions during this General Assembly session puzzled the party's 5th District chairman, Carl Eggleston, who this year said he might try to find another candidate to challenge Goode.
But he didn't find Powell.
Eggleston, a funeral home director in Farmville, got a phone call from Powell on Wednesday morning - the first time the two had talked.
Eggleston said he hasn't decided whom he will support.
Powell said he's aware of Goode's history, but "I'm not going to get into a dogfight."
"I don't like the way that Mr. Goode has aligned himself," Powell said, "but I'm going to talk about issues and let the delegates at the convention be the judge and jury."
Goode said Wednesday that he's working hard on his campaign. He said he's never met his challenger.
The 5th District Democratic Convention is set for May 11 in Charlottesville. The Republican convention is May 18 in Forest.
Albemarle County lawyer George Landrith; Del. Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg County; and Campbell County businessman Ron Buchanan are seeking the GOP nomination.
Gary Thomas, a high school teacher from Gretna, is seeking the nomination of the Virginia Independent Party, an offshoot of Ross Perot's United We Stand organization.
The sprawling 5th District stretches from Charlottesville south to Mecklenburg County and west to Patrick County. It includes Bedford, Bedford County, Franklin County, Henry County, Patrick County and Martinsville.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB