THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 17, 1996 TAG: 9607170332
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Profile
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 129 lines
Rugged individualism and teamwork are usually opposing traits.
But not when you talk to Thomas G. Underwood, who today presides over his first council meeting as mayor.
As a former Navy enlisted man, Underwood learned the value of teamwork.
But he also has come to admire the lessons of a handful of independent Texas lawmakers, such as former Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and former President Lyndon B. Johnson - both of whom were individuals as well as consensus builders.
Underwood, 65, replaces former Mayor S. Chris Jones, who was voted out of that position by the council earlier this month.
Underwood's rise to the top was a struggle. After he served the city for nearly two decades, Underwood's job in city government was eliminated. Yet a tenacious resolve, much like that of the historical heroes he so respects, helped him.
Underwood served in Suffolk government for 25 years, beginning as the old Nansemond County's zoning administrator. Longtime colleagues praise him as being a team player.
In 1991, Underwood lost his assistant city manager's position when his job was eliminated by former City Manager Richard L. Hedrick. But Underwood found another way to serve the city: He was elected to the City Council in 1994.
Underwood is a man of few words. He doesn't outline an agenda as mayor, and doesn't talk much about being forced out by Hedrick, except to joke that he was able to get early retirement.
Underwood brings a deep knowledge of the city, say those he has mentored.
Assistant City Manager James G. Vacalis worked with Underwood when Vacalis was the planning director for the newly merged city of Suffolk in 1974. He was new to the job and to the city, Vacalis said, and Underwood helped him make the transition.
Suffolk was on the verge of rapid development, said Vacalis. Underwood was instrumental in helping draft zoning ordinances that managed that growth.
During the 1970s, mobile homes were sprouting all over the city and surrounding counties. Underwood helped to draft a conditional-use permit for mobile homes that required community input before an applicant could get a permit. It was a revolutionary move, Vacalis said.
``Tom played a big role in that,'' said Vacalis. ``Because of that, it made our job a lot easier in controlling growth.''
Former Mayor Andrew B. Damiani, who worked with Underwood, said, ``He has shown that he is very interested in communities. He has Suffolk at heart.''
But, Damiani said, Underwood was a conservative administrator, and might need to be more flexible as mayor.
``Suffolk is an entirely new ballgame. You can't do things like you did 20 years ago,'' Damiani said. Bigger demands for managing growth and bringing jobs to the area weren't the focal point in the 1970s, he said.
Underwood said he's up to the test.
He said he will emphasize a push for jobs and commercial growth, especially in the southern end of the city.
Underwood's leadership style will likely be defined by some of the historical heroes he respects. He is an avid student of history.
Underwood talks reverently of World War II Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall, whose plan to rebuild Europe after the war eventually was named after him.
``General Marshall would tell the truth even if it hurt him,'' Underwood said. ``In the final analysis, all you have is your character.''
He admires Rayburn, Johnson and former Houston Congresswoman Barbara Jordan because they were trailblazers. Their individualism, he said, goes to the core of their perseverance.
``It means they're tough people,'' Underwood said of the Texas lawmakers. ``They got to the top because they knew how to play the game.''
Underwood's story, too, is a mixture of toughness and initiative.
He grew up in Suffolk and attended Suffolk High School. Then he enlisted in the Navy for four years and fought in the Korean War. He met his wife, Shirley, at Burwell's Bay, a residential area in Isle of Wight County. She says they were both poor and courted at their families' houses.
Shirley Underwood admires her husband for being a ``self-taught man.'' Although he didn't go to college, she said, he read and observed people on the ship where he served.
``He began reading and he didn't stop,'' she said.
Underwood's longtime friend, Social Services Director Bobby L. Ralph, said Underwood has an amazing ability to rattle off historical events and dates.
Ralph and Underwood worked together when Ralph was a social worker for Nansemond County. Underwood, Ralph said, is very meticulous and detailed. But what really impressed him was Underwood's candor.
``He's from the old school,'' Ralph said. ``And that means when someone tells you something, they mean it. Over the years, city managers have come and gone, and that quality has been cast aside.''
Some have wondered whether Myles E. Standish will be retained as city manager under and the Underwood administration, or if Underwood will institute a committee system that would move some city discussions out of council chambers.
Underwood said he has no plans to seek Standish's dismissal, arguing that he helped train Standish when he worked for management services in the 1980s.
Underwood said concerns that instituting a committee system would be less open are unfounded. The committee system can work, he said, pointing out that he and Jones recently worked together to recommend a new auditing firm for the city. And any actions recommended by the committees, Underwood said, would still have to be approved by the entire council.
As Underwood takes office tonight, Charles F. Brown will become the new vice mayor, replacing Curtis R. Milteer.
Underwood and Brown both represent boroughs in the southern end of the city, but Underwood downplays any concern that the southern end will get too much attention.
``I think we'll be looking at all areas of the city,'' said the new mayor.
Brown and Milteer have already pledged to advocate extending water and sewer lines near Suffolk Municipal Airport and to neighborhoods around downtown. The hope is that the utilities will bring development.
``The highest unemployment is in the southern end, so you have to run water and sewer there,'' Underwood said. MEMO: Suffolk will consider Driver facility plan/B5
Chesapeake loosens parking space requirement/B3 ILLUSTRATION: JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The Virginian-Pilot
Thomas Underwood bangs the gavel for the first time tonight.
NEW MAYOR
THOMAS GUNN UNDERWOOD Age: 65
Represents: Holy Neck Borough
Military Service: Served four years in the Navy and fought during
the Korean War.
Career: After military service, he worked for Hercules Chemical
Company as a power operator in Franklin. He then began a government
career that spanned 25 years. His first job was as a zoning
administrator for Nansemond County. He's also served Suffolk as an
assistant city manager, the city's acting public works director and
as an emergency services coordinator.
Personal: Married to Shirley Underwood, three children and four
grandchildren. by CNB