Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 1994                   TAG: 9411170015
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

1ST SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION WON BY LEGGETTE, STOVALL

Leggette, a lawyer who portrayed himself as a consensus candidate who could get things done, won a narrow victory in a four-way race in the Windsor Hills District.

With all votes counted, Leggette was ahead of Lisa Merrill by only 18 votes out of more than 7,000 cast. He relied on absentee ballots to boost his narrow margin. He had a 14-vote lead before the absentee ballots were counted.

The final results gave Leggette 2,994 and Merrill 2,976.

Businessman Wayne Newman ran third with 805. Richard Cullinan, a former School Board member, ran last with 572.

Leggette attributed his victory to a lot of hard work and support from many volunteers. "Without them and the support of my family, I could not have done it," he said.

Leggette and Merrill ran a close race in the suburban areas in Windsor Hills. Leggette carried three of the six precincts in the district. Merrill was the winner in two, and Newman carried Bent Mountain, his home precinct.

Merrill said Tuesday night that it's unlikely she will ask for a recount because there is little chance for errors. She said she would sleep on it and decide today.

''It was close, that's all I can say,'' Merrill said.

Leggette called for greater parental involvement in schools and better communication among school administrators, parents and the School Board.

Merrill, a former school teacher, called during her campaign for better planning in the school system. She was the sharpest critic of the School Board and school administration.

In the three-way contest in the Vinton District, Stovall won easily. He had promised to hold town meetings on school issues and make himself accessible to parents and voters.

Stovall, an investigator with the Vinton Police Department, received 2,996 votes and carried all four precincts in the district.

Evelyn Ball, a Parent-Teacher Association leader, ran second with 1,347 votes, and Robert Rouse, a real estate salesman ran third with 1,099 votes.

Stovall, at 32 the youngest candidate in the field, was overjoyed with his win as he celebrated with supporters at the Vinton War Memorial.

Stovall, who was born and grew up in Vinton, used his hometown acquaintances and volunteer work in several community agencies to boost his campaign.

Incumbent Jerry Canada was elected without opposition in the Hollins District.

In both the Windsor Hills and Vinton contests, the candidates agreed on many issues: more money for schools, greater parental involvement, safer schools, a new Cave Spring High School and expulsion of students who bring guns to schools.

But the differences came in personality and style.

Mostly it was a door-to-door campaign with little money and lots of volunteers for all candidates.

All the candidates passed out leaflets at the polls Tuesday. In some cases, candidates campaigned side by side for votes. Merrill and Newman distributed leaflets together at Cave Spring Junior High School, the voting place for the Castle Rock precinct.

Across the county in the Vinton District, Stovall handed out leaflets and greeted voters alongside Rouse's wife, Phyllis, and Ball's son, Joey, at the Vinton Fire Department.

In at least one case, the last-minute appeal for votes was fruitful. At Castle Rock, Stacie Collard had not planned to vote in the School Board election because she doesn't have children in school and hadn't kept up with the campaign.

But Merrill buttonholed Collard and persuaded her to vote for her. "She convinced me to vote for her. She seems to be qualified," Collard said.

In Vinton, Everett Meador said he voted for Stovall, even though he believes School Board members should be appointed and not elected.