by S. Rotan Hale
The Roanoke Branch NAACP in conjunction with the Roanoke Alumni Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc held a candidates forum Friday, Oct. 13 at the Dumas Center on First St. NW. Among the seven candidates scheduled to appear, the three that showed up were candidate for Sheriff Tim Allen (D) and two candidates vying for Commonwealth Attorney, incumbent Donald Caldwell, (Ind.) and local attorney Melvin Hill, (D).
The event, moderated by WDBJ reporter Joe Dashiell, was well attended and offered few surprises with the exception of several amusing comments from both Hill and Allen that seemed to register well with the audience.
The other two candidates vying for Roanoke City Sheriff, McLaren Westland (R) and William Billingsley (Ind.) left the night to Tim Allen who appropriately bolstered his case for Sheriff with an array of impressive fact-based assertions.
Also absent were 2 incumbents, City Treasurer Evelyn Powers, (D) and Commissioner of Revenue Sherman Holland, (D) who sent a letter of regret as to his absence, both running unopposed.
Event organizers: Brenda Hale, local branch NAACP president and Delta local president Monica Calloway opened the forum with remarks from several notable political figures.
Justin Fairfax gave a brief pitch as the Democratic candidate in the commonwealth’s lieutenant governor race, facing off against Republican Jill Vogel.
“I am very passionate about the mission of what you all have laid out to make our Commonwealth an even better place,” said Fairfax. “I want more opportunity for all of our families no matter where someone is born, of what zip code they live in or the color of their skin, who they love, their gender, what religion they practice–they should get a chance to rise and achieve the American dream. It is what makes us unique among nations and the world.”
Fairfax referred to the upcoming November 7 election as “historic” and said the 2016 election was driven by “division, hatred, misogyny, xenophobia and racism–and all the things that represent the worst of what can exist in this country. But I believe we can rise to the better angels of our nature.”
He closed citing a host of major concerns presently plaguing the Commonwealth –tenets on which he has launched his campaign.
Mayor Sherman Lea, Sr. spoke on behalf of incumbent Mark Herring, (D), who hopes to maintain his position as Virginia’s Attorney General in the race against Republican challenger John Adams. After citing several issues pertinent to Herrings campaign, he closed urging everyone to “get out and vote Nov. 7 for the statewide democratic ticket of Herring, Ralph Northam for Governor and Justin Fairfax.
Nancy Dye, local physician–turned politician, spoke on behalf of gubernatorial challenger Republican Ed Gillespie.
Sam Rasoul gave a more personal account of his years as 11th District Virginia House Delegate. Rasoul also spoke about the significance of a little-known fact regarding the Springarn Award given in honor of Joel Elias Spingarn, the NAACP’s second president who was a Republican of Jewish decent.
“In Virginia we are the beginning of religious liberty, we are the beginning of so many freedoms in our Constitution that began and have a heart here in Virginia,” Rasoul added.
Yet the main focus of the night was on the three local candidates who gave their spiel in response to several prepared questions.
Donald Caldwell, 66, pushed his position–banking on his familiarity with the people and his position as Roanoke’s Commonwealth Attorney for 38 years. The long-time Democrat broke from his party and ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2015 as an independent. In his opening statement he prided his strengths of “common sense, good judgment, a sense of duty and a sense of responsibility to the people.”
“I’m still spry and of a good mind as I’ve ever had,” he boasted. “I have the responsibility to manage a case load that numbers in the thousands each year and a staff of 25 people in my office in addition to managing a budget of $2.3 million.”
Lynchburg native Melvin Hill, 60, cited a lengthy list of accomplishments and positions he’s held. During a strategic reference he seized the opportunity to mention that “his challenger (Caldwell) had hired him twice.” It was a moment that gave credence to his candidacy-evidenced by the crowds jovial uproar.
If elected Hill said his approach to the position involved: instituting a program of community prosecution for himself and other assistant commonwealth’s attorneys to “get to know the different problems in the community and hopefully better serve the citizens of Roanoke.” He also proposed to exercise a drug treatment initiative verses incarceration for drug offenders and spoke of the necessity to “do something about gun violence in the City of Roanoke.”
Roanoke native Tim Allen has been sheriff since his win over 2-term incumbent Sheriff Octavia Johnson in 2013 who took his 30-year career in law enforcement down a different path.
Allen proudly mentioned that he worked his way through the ranks of the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office to lieutenant, and later to captain.
“There were a tremendous amount of challenges but we had an equal amount of triumphs when I stepped into the office,” Allen said. He commend his staff for working with him to get a lot of different things turned around in the department and spoke of the present public safety challenges as mental health issues and the opiate addiction problem.
“An organization should always be a microcosm of the people it serves,” he said in response to the question of diversity among the staff in the sheriff’s department.
Each of the three candidates offered impressive statements closing this much needed civil discourse sponsored by two local organizations in their continued attempts to actively engage area citizens.
