THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, November 3, 1994             TAG: 9411030444
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines

SWEET AND SISISKY SEEM TO NEED MAP TO LOCATE SHIPYARDS

If you're tracking the increasingly contentious race between U.S. Rep. Norman Sisisky and challenger George Sweet, you'd better get out your map.

The latest flap in the 4th Congressional District contest is not political, but geographical.

At issue: the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Not the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., but the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard up around Portsmouth, N.H. The distinction is critical here in defense-rich Hampton Roads, and each candidate is bent on proving that the other doesn't know it.

The wrangling started with a Sweet campaign commercial attacking Sisisky for the loss of 5,400 jobs at the ``Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.''

Ah-hah, said the Sisisky campaign. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is in New Hampshire.

So out came a Sisisky ad blasting Sweet for caring about jobs in New England more than jobs in Hampton Roads. ``If you want to represent us,'' the ad said, ``you need to know the difference between New Hampshire and Virginia.''

Well ah-hah yourself, the Sweet campaign quickly retorted. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard isn't really in Portsmouth, N.H., it's across the river in Kittery, Maine.

Out came a news release from the Sweet camp Wednesday. ``Sisisky's latest attack ad based on major inaccuracy,'' it said across the top.

``When Norman Sisisky finally figured out how close the race really is, he decided to make it personal,'' the statement read, ``and made a major blunder in the process.''

That ``major blunder'' has been a topic of debate on the Maine/New Hampshire border for years. Both states claim the shipyard and its bevy of taxpayers. Lawsuits have been threatened.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is on an island in the Piscataqua River. To send mail there, you address it to Portsmouth, N.H. To drive there, you cross a bridge from Kittery, Maine.

Employees pay their taxes in Maine, the utilities are connected to Maine pipes and wires, and the Navy says the yard is in Maine until a court says otherwise.

But when asked what state the shipyard is in, spokeswoman Mary Ann Mascianica had to consult an attorney. ``We're neutral,'' she finally said. ``The Department of Defense considers it in Maine. But we really don't want to get involved.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

George Sweet

U.S. Rep. Norman Sisisky

Color staff map

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N.H.

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va.

KEYWORDS: HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE 4TH DISTRICT CANDIDATE ELECTION by CNB