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From The Roanoke Times

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A Republican businessman said Tuesday that he intends to run for Roanoke's commissioner of the revenue.

Douglas Walker, 32, most recently worked for the Hammersley Group, a Lynchburg business that owned 11 luxury auto dealerships in central Virginia and the Roanoke Valley. The group sold its assets to a North Carolina group in September.

Walker said that's freed him up for public service.

"I'm a businessman," Walker said. "This political position directly affects our businesses in the valley, and so, for me, it's a natural fit."

Walker said that publicity about a report by the Roanoke municipal auditor that was critical of current Commissioner Sherman Holland helped draw his attention to the post. That 2005 report said that Holland's office wasn't effectively performing its duties and, because of that, the city was losing as much as $500,000 to $1 million a year in tax revenue.

Holland, a Democrat and commissioner since 1998, has challenged the findings of the audit and defended the record of his office.

Holland could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

"One of the most important things you can do as commissioner is make sure everyone is assessed fairly and that everyone's paying taxes correctly," Walker said. "If you're not doing that, you're creating an incentive to not pay taxes."

Continuing, he said: "It's not my intention to go after this position because of the negative publicity, but it does identify an issue for me that I think I'm a good fit for."

Walker is a Rocky Mount, N.C., native. He's been a Roanoke Valley resident for five years, he said, and moved into Roanoke about a month ago.

City Republicans plan a May 12 mass meeting to nominate a commissioner candidate. The general election is Nov. 3.