36 Pages This Week
Thursday, November 2,1989
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12/28/89
m-Salem Chronicle
SO cat AL.BERTVILLE ai.. -35950 "The Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly" VOL. XVI, No. 10
Martha Wood
takes nothing for granted
By TONYA V. SMITH
?r ChrwHcto Staff Writer
"You can't fight city hall" is the
adage Martha Swain Wood tried to
dispel eight years ago when she
first entered the political arena as
Northwest Ward alderman.
Her history-making quest to
become the city's first woman
mayor is a continuation of her mis
sion to prove that the person hold
ing the gavel in city hall should be
representative of the people and not
an antagonist working against them.
"1 was concerned to hear so
many people saying, 'you can't fight
city hall/ because I couldn't under
stand that based on all that I
learned," said the 46-year-old
Please see page A 7
'Fashion
Magic'
Is Here!
Elegant fashions such as the dress above will be displayed at the Ebony Fashion
F8lr Friday evening at the Convention Center. For more details, please see page A9.
Candidates, bond referendum supporters make last appeal to voters
By TONYA V. SMITH
Chronide Staff Writer
No one can be in two places at
the same time, but in the often wild
and crazy world of politics almost
anything is possible.
Case in point: Republican nom
inee for mayor Lenville M. Sale
was "unavoidably detained" from
attending a candidates' forum Mon
day sponsored by the Omicron
Gamma Lambda chapter of Alpha
Phi Alpha Fraternity and the
NAACP. However, he didn't let
mere unavailability hinder his plat
form from beii\? represented. In his
stead, Mr. Sale sent former chal
lenger and friend Charles S. Smith
to sit on the panel. .
LenvilleSale
An underdog closes the
gap with amazing speed
By TONYA V. SMITH
Chronicle Staff Writer
Whether city residents choose
the first woman or the first Republi
can mayor, history will be made
next Tuesday at the polls.
Republican Lenville M. Sale
has launched what he calls a non
partisan campaign so that he may
arise as the victor in the race. In
addition, instead of delegating the
responsibility of getting out the
Afro-American vote to a campaign
worker, Mr. Sale is personally
administering the task.
"I am working on the black
vote myself by visiting black
churches and the ministerial confer
ence at First Baptist Church on
Please see paQe A7
Lenvilfe Sale
Martha Wood
The Northwest Ward Battle
Pillsbury: Open communication is key
By TONYA V SMITH and how its affairs are handled into personal action," Mr. Pills
Chronicle Staff Writer bury ^
Everybody's interested in who's going to be the next mayor
of the city, but that election has overshadowed the more interest
ing races to decide who will be-the power brokers on the Board
of Aldermen, said David C. Pillsbury.
As the Democratic contender vying for the Northwest Ward
seat that will be vacated by nufyoral candidate and friend Martha
S. Wood, Mr. pillsbury said many of the aldermanic candidates
have had a*lot better copimand ot the issues affecting city gov
ernment, but they haven't had an audience.
The 48-ycar-old Philadelphia native arrived in the city 12
years ago by way of Adanta. He had spent six years in the U.S.
Air Force and resigned with the rank of captain in 1971. As the
director of the Hearing and Spcech Department at N.C. Baptist
-Hospital, Mr. Pillsbury utilizes his master's degree in audiology
to help adults and children with communicative disorders.
During the last year or so, Mr. Pillsbury has trekked down to
city hall nearly every second and fourth Monday night to attend
the aldermen's meetings.
"I was just trying to understand how the city government
process works and how it doesn't work," Mr. Pillsbury explained.
"It was a very instructional experience and, as a consequence of
that, I know all the aldermen now and jhey know me and I know
most of the department heads and a lot of the key staff members,
"The reason I'm running for alderman? I'm translating 10
years of concern about the direction Winston-Salem is going in
His personal action has included numerous conversations
with city officials and staff members so that he could be better
educated about the major
issues affecting the city.
One of the most important
"I want to create a
more active enviro n
ment in city hall. I
sense that presently
the city is perceived
as a closed operation,
a closed shop."
?^David 6 rFillsbury
things Mr. Pillsbury said he
has learned is that voters
have a lot to say, and they
often have a clearer per
spective of how city government works than those closest to it
Because of that, Mr. Pillsbury wants to make sure that all voters
are familiar with the issues, and he proposes to do that by provid
Please see page A6
to strike a balance
Pleasants: We need
By TONYA V. SMITH
Chronicle Staff Writer
Nancy Thompson Pleasants has thought a lot about what she
calls the polarization taking place in Winston-Salem and thinks
the city should explore the
at-large election of alder
men as a means of eliminat
7 want to see us create
well-paying jobs to
replace those we've
lost. In order to do that
we've got to sit down,
... and come up with a
joint economic devel
opment strategy."
- Nancy T. Pleasants
ing the divisiveness on the
board, in turn, reuniting the
community.
"It sounds perfect in
theory but in practice it docs not work out the way it was intend
ed to," said the Republican candidate for Northwest Ward alder
man about the ward method of electing aldermen. "I'm concerned
about the polarization of the community and perhaps the way the
Board of Aldermen is currently elected contributes to that polar
ization. Some have said individuals' personalities are the cause,
and I can't say that is or is not true, but 1 think it's something we
need to continue to watch because there is a need tc pull people
together."
A political newcomer, Mrs. Pleasants admits she has no
political experience. However, her work on the 1987 city-county
bond referendum campaign introduced her to the way local gov
ernments work, she said. Mrs. Pleasants, 48, is the wife of C.
Edward Pleasants Jr., owner of Pleasants Hardware Co. The cou
ple have two daughters, Emily and Mary.
She entered the race an unknown candidate by the general
populace, but she has long worked with the movers and shakers
who have provided leadership to the Twin City. Mrs. Pleasants
has worked with Leadership Winston-Salem since its inception in
1983 and is on the organization s alumni council. .
"I think the Leadership Winston-Salem experience enabled
me to get to know people across a broad spectrum of the commu
nity, and their perceptions of what the problems in the city are
and what the solutions are," Mrs. Pleasants said.
Her other community activities include membership on the
boards of trustees for the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Client
Security Fund of the N. C. Bar Association and the Citizens
Bond Advisory Committee. She also has served as a trustee at
hei; church, Centenary United Methodist, on the boards of direc
tors of the Forsyth County Council for Older Adults and Senior
Please see page A6
Joining Mr. Smith on the stage
in the File-Goodwin Enrichment
Center at Mt Zion Baptist Church
was Martha S. Wood, the Demo
cratic nominee for mayor; Alder
man Virginia K. Newell and
Richard Rowell, candidates for the
East Ward seat; James L. Knox and
Nelson L. Malloy Jr., both vying for
aWerman of the North Ward; and
Alderman Larry W. Womble and
Dale Folwell, candidates for the
Southeast Ward. Vernon L. Robin
son, chair of the NAACFs political
action committee, served as moder
ator.
Discussions in this forum, like
previous ones, centered around the
city's drug and crime problems,
pubhc housing tenant management,
economic development in East Win
ston and the proposed $30 million
in bonds for the schools which will
appear on Tuesday s voting ballot.
Before Mr. Robinson began
asking questions, each candidate
had three minutes to make an open
ing statement Mr. Smith explained
trikf to-waf eoceagmn among the
candidates for city office after being
eliminated on Sept 26.
"I was a candidate for the may
or's seat and Mr. Sales (sic) and I
were very close, so through those
turbulent times we made a pact that
if he won I would support him and
if I won he would support me," said
the man who received 246 out of
Please see page A9