DATE: Friday, April 25, 1997                TAG: 9704250672

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   42 lines

THREE MORE JOIN RACE FOR STATE HOUSE SEAT, BOOSTING FIELD TO FIVE

The field of candidates for the 76th District House seat being vacated by Del. Robert E. Nelms has expanded to five.

Petitions were certified this week from Democrat Charles D. Parr Sr. and Republicans Betty Jolly Perkinson and Amos D. Neill.

Two other candidates, Republican S. Chris Jones and Democrat Michelle Degnan, announced their candidacy earlier.

Parr, 36, is a Suffolk native making his first run for elected office. He lives with his wife and three children in the 100 block of Pine Valley Road.

He manages two funeral homes in Suffolk.

Parr said the district's next delegate needs a policy that joins the issues of economic development, environmental protection, crime and education.

Perkinson, 49, is an associate professor of English at the Portsmouth campus of Tidewater Community College.

She has served on the executive committee of the Suffolk PTA and is an officer with the state chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international honors society for women.

Perkinson and her husband live in the 4900 block of Bennetts Pasture Road. She wants to foster cooperation among Chesapeake, Suffolk and Isle of Wight communities. ``We're legislating away our freedoms,'' she said.

Neill, 53, lives with his wife in the 3800 block of Indian Trail in Suffolk. He has worked as a mortician and insurance salesman and is currently unemployed.

He said political and corporate fraud is the biggest problem facing the district.

Each party will hold its primary June 10. The primary winners will compete in the general election Nov. 4. ILLUSTRATION: Amos D. Neill

Charles D. Parr Sr.

Betty Jolly Perkinson KEYWORDS: CANDIDATES CONGRESSIONAL RACE

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