Mark Warner listens to concerns at Roanoke Restaurant

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: July 24, 2008

Barely out of the car, Mark Warner started shaking hands outside the Roanoker Restaurant.

Inside it was more of the same, as the Democrat’s candidate for the US Senate seat being vacated by John Warner went table to table introducing himself.

All of that led to the real reason Warner was in town, to meet with a group of local people eager to share their concerns with him.

Warner doesn’t excel on a debate stage or with a teleprompter, but he shines in settings like this. He laughed with the group when someone’s cell phone kept ringing. He listened intently to everything they had to say. And, he frequently leaned in to offer a solution or aside.

On this morning, most of those comments centered on one topic: high energy costs. That was the worry from almost everyone in this room and they all wanted to know if anything could be done.

Warner believes the answer is yes, but only with a comprehensive plan. He uses that phrase over and over. His plan includes expanded nuclear power, more renewable energy, conservation, and some increased domestic oil production.

“There’s not a silver bullet fix, but I think you are seeing Congress move on this issue,” Warner said. “It’s not going to be easy. It took us 35 years to get into this problem. God willing it won’t take 35 years to get out.”

Warner isn’t the only optimistic one. Retiree Eula Rosenberger lives in Botetourt County. Sky high gas prices have hit her family hard.

“We don’t just hop in the car and go, we plan our trips into Roanoke. We also plan our vacations. It’s definitely affecting our fixed budget,” she said.

Still in the face of what seems an insurmountable problem, Rosenberger has hope and for her it rests on Mark Warner.

“I think we have a very capable person to put that deal together,” she said.