Sunday, March 08, 2009
Metro columnist Dan Casey: Debbie Bell: Virginia's clean-air belle
Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times
Former Sen. Brandon Bell orders food with his wife, Debbie, and daughter, Sarah, at Famous Anthony's in Roanoke, which went smoke-free two years ago.
Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times
Debbie Bell, at home in Roanoke County with her husband, Brandon, and children, Sarah and Parker, supported her husband, a former GOP senator, in championing smoking bans in Virginia restaurants.
Dan Casey is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
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Remember the old saying that behind a good man, there's always a good woman?
In the case of former state Sen. Brandon Bell, that would be Debbie Bell, his wife and the mother of their two young children.
If you've ever felt assaulted by secondhand smoke in Virginia restaurants, soon that will be over. And for that, you should send Debbie a card of thanks.
A question she raised six years ago might have been the anchor that ultimately sank her husband's political career. But it also gives her claim to some credit for clearing the air in Virginia's bars and restaurants.
Back in 2003, Bell and Debbie sat in the bar of a Florida restaurant, waiting for their table. She's one of those ultrasensitive nonsmokers, and as they sipped glasses of wine, she noticed something odd.
"I could actually breathe," Debbie recalled recently. "I said, 'Brandon, there's no cigarette smoke here.' " A waiter informed them the Florida legislature had banned smoking in restaurants.
"She said, 'Why can't we do this in Virginia?' "Brandon Bell recalled. "I said, 'Well, we could, but it's political suicide.' "
But it got him thinking.
The leader of anti-smoking legislation in the General Assembly at the time was then-Sen. Bill Mims, R-Loudoun County. He put in a bill banning workplace (including restaurant) smoking in 2005.
Bell told Mims it was good for Virginia, and voted for it, but it died in the Senate.
Mims stepped down in 2005 (he's now Virginia's attorney general). Anti-smoking advocates knew Bell was on their side, so they asked the Roanoke County Republican to champion their cause.
The longer Bell studied the health effects of secondhand smoke, the more he realized Debbie was right. So he agreed to become lead sponsor. In both 2006 and 2007, he pushed bills through the Senate, which surprised many of his tobacco-state colleagues. That made it a real issue.
House Republicans thwarted both bills. They spouted an unusual argument about a restaurateur's "right" to have spoiled air inside a business.
You could tell that was phony logic, because not one of those lawmakers ever fought for a restaurant's "right" to serve spoiled food.
In the 2007 Republican primary, Bell's Senate career went up in smoke when Ralph Smith defeated him by a wispy 75 votes.
Bell says it was turnout, rather than smoking, that did him in.
This year, the House leadership and Gov. Tim Kaine worked out a deal. The anti-smoking law passed and will take effect in December. The courageous smoking champions of the House didn't want to face their nonsmoking voters this fall.
Though Debbie's question back in 2003 was the inspiration, "Brandon did the hard work," she said.
Today, Bell owns Bell Wealth Management in Roanoke County, where he advises about 50 clients on their financial futures. He serves on the Radford University Board of Visitors. He and Debbie, 37, are raising a daughter, 3, and a son, who's 15 weeks old, in Roanoke County.
Bell, 50, says he has no future political plans, but he's smart enough never to say "never."
He notes that some Democrats have urged him to join their party.
Come December, I hope he and Debbie can meet me at a bar where we can toast the fresh air.
If you feel the same way, come join us and thank him -- and Debbie, too.
