“19 angels carried me across the threshold the victory, yesterday.” Said David Bowers, the Candidate for Roanoke City Mayor, or indeed, former Mayor, who served as a Roanoke City Mayor from 1992 to 2000, and from 2008 to 2012.
Tuesday night’s Election result was a major surprise for the local politicians, especially the Democrats. The City’s Democrats have been laying their heads and relaxing for many years without overly concerning themselves Roanoke City’s issues and its citizens.
The latest issue was the zoning amendment that the current members of the City Council, including Vice Mayor and Mayoral Candidate Joe Cobb, voted on, which allows the building of multi-family units in a single family area.
The Citizens of Roanoke expressed the opposition in the past but they were dismissed. After the City Council and Mayoral candidates debate in September, I asked Cobb about the rezoning amendment that all the candidates and many Roanoke’s Citizens are opposing. He referred to only 17 people who spoke in favor of the amendment in the Council meeting.
Obviously, Bowers addressed the consequence of the Election result and clarified that 62% of people wanted to see the zoning amendment immediately repealed. While Cobb listened to ’17 people,’ Bowers clearly listened to many more from across Roanoke. He promised Roanoke Citizens that he would repeal this amendment, and reversely, if Cobb was elected the opposite would happen.
Throughout his campaign, Bowers talked and listened to people regarding the various issues of Roanoke. Public safety is another issue that Cobb has failed to address. Bowers said that people are afraid to go downtown and to the greenway and businesses are complaining about the current City Council. High taxes, homelessness, and safety are their concerns. In support of this Bowers said that 62% of people would not support Cobb to be elected Mayor.
Obviously, sitting behind a desk and making decisions based on political agenda would not serve people and solve the issues. This election was a loud warning for Cobb to realize that only listening to small number of people will not enable him a title of representing the entire city.
It is important to remember that the Democrats’ long running political ball and chain will not remain forever. It’s fragility was observed in the election result, and indeed, Roanokers are awakening to new voices on the local political landscape. A clear example is the election of Republican Nick Hagen for Roanoke City Council which demonstrated that people can break the political power of Democrats in the City and elect an alternative. Hagen is the first Republican elected to serve in the Roanoke City Council since 2000.
Presently, Bowers is leading by 11 votes and the recount is underway. indeed, Bowers was a surprise for Cobb in this race and the Roanoke College poll that on October 30, showed Cobb is leading by 24 points and having the support of 50% of the voters.
But Bowers proved them wrong.
Regardless of the result of the recount, the race is very close and the result of the completion was not what Cobb and his democratic friends expected. And the question remains: Was Cobb’s rigid mindset that distanced people from him? Or Bowers’ common sense that pulled people toward him?
Or both.
– Serwan Zangana supported Operation Iraqi Freedom as a U.S Army translator before coming to the U.S from Kurdistan, Iraq in 1997 to seek political asylum. He was granted asylum status and years later proudly became a U.S citizen. He currently serves as a correction officer in Roanoke.