Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Political group backs Roanoke, Salem candidates
The Business Leadership Fund is endorsing three Democrats in Roanoke.
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From The Roanoke Times
The high-spending Business Leadership Fund political action committee has endorsed candidates in city council elections for Roanoke and Salem.
In Roanoke, it has endorsed the three Democrats: incumbent Councilman David Trinkle, former Councilman Bill Bestpitch and lawyer Ray Ferris.
In Salem, it has endorsed incumbent Mayor Randy Foley and longtime school board member Wayne Adkins. Both are independents.
The Business Leadership Fund, a PAC administered by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, was established in 1988 to represent business interests. Since 2006, it has spent $91,498 on Roanoke City Council candidates. That's the most money spent by any one entity on Roanoke council races over that time frame.
In 2006, the PAC contributed nearly $65,000 to the "For the City" slate, which swept the race for three council seats. Two years ago, it contributed thousands of dollars to Sherman Lea and Court Rosen -- who won seats on the council -- as well as $12,000 to Nelson Harris, who lost his re-election bid for mayor.
Mike Pace, a Roanoke lawyer and chairman of the Business Leadership Fund, said experience factored into the Roanoke endorsements this year: "We think that is best suited for Roanoke city going forward given the difficulties with the economy, the difficulties with the budget and the need to work together as a group to get things done with the new city manager, Chris Morrill, and the existing city council members."
The Salem endorsements were awarded for similar reasons, Pace said.
"Given Mayor Foley's record in Salem city, we strongly believe that he should continue to serve the city, and given Wayne Adkins' long-standing experience on the school board, we believe the two of them have the progressive ideas to keep Salem strong and moving forward," Pace said.
