8 locals vie to be president for, of ‘us’

By Darrell Laurant

Published: October 4, 2008

Ever wish you were President of the United States?

Are there times when you feel like the puzzled child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” crying out to anyone who will listen: “Can’t you see what’s happening?”

Or, not happening?

It’s an American tradition, after all. All across the country, in bars and hair salons and Mom and Pop restaurants, people complain about how the country is coming apart at the seams and how they know just what they’d do to fix the problems, except that you have to be a zillionaire to even get on the ballot. They’ve been playing this game since the president they were complaining about was George Washington.

That’s one reason for our “President of Us” contest (not U.S., but “Us.”). Here’s another: Most of the time, elections turn out to be about people rather than ideas.

But what if you had a slate of candidates who were largely unknown to the public? What if none of the candidates knew who was running against them, so there could be no personal attacks on their opponents? What if you could have an election based strictly on what these people were espousing, and not how they wore their hair or what church they attended?

That’s what we’ve tried to put together.

Here’s how it’s going to work. We have a slate of eight candidates, all Central Virginia residents, who would like to be your president, if only in an imaginary sense. Keep reading, and you’ll find a short thumbnail sketch of each. Then, starting this Tuesday (the traditional election day), we will post their campaign statements on a special Web page, and you’ll have a week to vote online for your favorite. The idea is to pare the eight-candidate field down to two.

We would also like to hear any questions you might like to ask the runoff survivors (send those to ) After the field is cut down, we’ll take a week off to pick 10 of these queries and present them to the two remaining candidates, who will answer them online. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, we’ll stage a three-day runoff election. The winner will be announced on Sunday, Oct. 26.

It’s been interesting, putting this together. The one common denominator among the eight, not surprisingly, is a deep dissatisfaction with where the country is headed.

Beyond that, though, we discovered that the tidy terms “liberal” and “conservative” rarely applied. Almost without exception, the ideas presented by these eight people are all over the ideological map.

Let’s introduce them to you:

THE REVOLUTIONARY. Lynchburg resident Junior Gallaher is an accountant, and he doesn’t think what’s happening in the U.S. right now adds up. What he’s proposing as an antidote, however, is nothing less than a total restructuring of our government, philosophy and society, and he admits: “It’s probably going to be too radical for most people.”

But maybe not for you. Check it out.

THE REBEL. Lib Elder ran away from home at 15 and lived in a car. Later, she reconciled with her father, a three-star general, and has even incorporated some of his philosophy into her own. What bothers her most is the apathetic approach of many Americans toward their government and how it’s selected. Running a close second is our current foreign policy, which she sees as more confrontive than constructive. Elder is an artist who lives in Gladys.

THE PROFESSOR. Ohio native Phil Pantana is a former college professor, an author (“America: A Purpose-Driven Nation”) and a self-employed Lynchburg businessman. His plan for revival revolves around what he calls “The Three E’s” — energy, education and the economy. He also wants to revisit the legislative and judicial wall that has been erected between church and state.

THE PREACHER. Marvin “Buddy” Crews of Brookneal lost his factory job because of MS, and now tries to reach prison inmates with his own ministry. Based in large part on his own experience, he feels that the American health care system is a disaster, and acutely feels the pain of the middle class.

THE SAGE. Charles Tanner III worked his way up to the executive level with Mead Corporation before spending a number of years as a federal employee with the General Services Administration. There, he said, he saved the government millions of dollars by working out a new way to buy paper. Tanner, who now lives in Madison Heights, believes the federal government needs to take a common sense, hard-headed approach to running the country that is more befitting a successful business.

THE POPULIST. Like Buddy Crews, Bedford resident Belinda Bush sympathizes with the middle class, which she sees as overtaxed, overcharged, and underprotected by its government. Her main issue is with illegal immigration, which she fears will increasingly siphon jobs away from American citizens.

THE PRAGMATIST. Jim Batton has perhaps the most varied resume of any of the candidates — he has been, at one time or another, a member of the military (the U.S. Air Force), a banker, an insurance man and an automobile dealer. He has taken something from each of these identities, hates partisan politics, and feels that what’s needed more than anything else in government is common sense. Batton lives in Lynchburg.

THE BUSINESSMAN. Joe Turk of Bedford County works in the food industry and sees his company’s profits — and, by extension, its employees’ pay — badly squeezed by galloping oil prices and unrealistic business taxes. Like several other candidates, he also decries what he sees as a trend in government to “tell people what’s good for them.”

Who knows? The voting this month may even provide a preview of how Central Virginia will vote on Nov. 4.

Or, if you really like one of these people better than the presidential candidates who are available, write him or her in.