A group of three dozen Roanoke Democrats, including a majority of the city's elected officials, announced Monday the formation of what they say is a political caucus to promote inclusion and the economic and social growth of the city.

The caucus, essentially a movement within the existing city Democratic Committee, has been in the discussion stage for weeks. It came together publicly over the past few days, energized by a city Democratic Committee vote to ask Mayor Nelson Harris and Councilman Bev Fitzpatrick for their committee resignations.

Some city committee members are still smarting over the May council campaign in which three independent candidates backed by Harris and Fitzpatrick swept the election. Those "For the City" candidates -- self-described "independent Democrats" Alfred Dowe, Gwen Mason and David Trinkle -- were in attendance to support the creation of the caucus at a news conference Monday morning outside city hall. Others in attendance included: Harris and Fitzpatrick; state Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke; former state delegate and longtime Democrat Clifton "Chip" Woodrum; Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell; Treasurer Evelyn Powers; Commissioner of the Revenue Sherman Holland; former council members Linda Wyatt, Rupert Cutler and Brenda McDaniel; and several current committee officers.

Several speakers, including Harris, Ware, Caldwell, Wyatt and Kurt Navratil, the group's first chairman, said the caucus was formed to promote the growth of the city and the Democratic Committee with a focus on quality economic development and candidate recruitment.

Said Ware: "This is not a radical group ... this is not a renegade group," adding that it's an initiative to "stretch" the Democratic Party to better represent the city as a whole.

Wyatt went further, and in a jab at some others in the city party, said it's time a strong wing of the city committee moved the organization past those who want to "revel in the past" over such issues as Victory Stadium, which was a central issue of the May election.

The "For the City" ticket included the only three candidates in a field of ten who favored demolition of the stadium in favor of separate high school facilities.

Now that the caucus is up and running, a number of other issues arise, such as how it will function within the existing party and what effect the current Democratic divide will have on state elections in 2007 and the next council race in 2008.

State Democratic Chairman Richard Cranwell of Vinton, former majority leader of the House of Delegates, said he sees the creation of the caucus as a first step in what he hopes will be an eventual reconciliation of the entire city committee.

"Politics is about addition, not subtraction," he said.

Navratil said he, too, hopes the committee will come back together, but he acknowledged there are issues.

For instance, the "For the City" ticket did compete against three nominated Democrats -- David Bowers, Granger Macfarlane and Bill White.

By running against the Democratic nominees, Dowe, Mason and Trinkle effectively severed their city committee ties, Chairwoman Carolyn Word has said. But Harris and Fitzpatrick, who were elected as nominated Democrats in 2004, remain on the committee. It was obligated according to its bylaws to take some type of action against them for supporting the independents, Word said.

Word has sent Harris and Fitzpatrick letters requesting their resignations, to which neither has officially replied.

Mac McCadden, a committee member who is mentioned frequently as a potential intraparty challenger to Ware, said this about the situation with Harris and Fitzpatrick: "Why have bylaws if you're not going to enforce them? This is not about them [the caucus]. This is about the party."

McCadden, a former Republican councilman who later waged two independent mayoral bids before becoming a Democrat, also questioned Ware's involvement. McCadden said he finds it curious that Ware recently resigned as vice chairman of the state Democratic Party because of time concerns, but now has the time to help direct the creation of the Roanoke caucus.

The Democratic divide may be settled sometime in the coming months simply by which side has the greater number of supporters. The caucus, if it has the majority, could take over the party's leadership and turn the committee in its direction. But Word and some others have said they have no plans to let that happen.