THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412180346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
As January's General Assembly session approaches, black political leaders are faced with a dilemma - who will be the city's first black judge?
The state Supreme Court in October recommended that the city create a third judgeship in its Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Between 1986 and 1993, that court's caseload increased from 7,093 to 10,915 cases annually.
Although Chesapeake is 27 percent African American, the city has never had a black judge. The new opening, say local delegates, finally presents a good opportunity to appoint one.
Three candidates have emerged: Leonard Brown, an assistant city attorney; S. Bernard Goodwyn, a private lawyer and substitute judge; and Eileen Olds, an attorney and former head of the Chesapeake branch of the NAACP.
So many choices have caused a split in local leadership, as minority legislators struggle to make tough decisions about how to change the face of the city's all-white, all-male judiciary.
Because of a shared social history of exclusion and racism, black leaders say, they have traditionally been pressured into speaking with one voice. But times have changed.
``The black community is not monolithic in its views, no more than any other community in this nation, be it the white community, Hispanic community or other ethnic communities,'' said Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.
``But the problem that (this) poses for us, is that African Americans make up only 16 percent of the voters in the Commonwealth, and for us to have a split in our numbers is significantly more devastating than with the majority block of voters. We do not have enough voting strength on our own to substantiate that kind of in-group fighting.''
Dissension in the ranks could cost the community its best shot at putting a black face on the bench, said Lucas.
Two members of the Black Legislative Caucus, Lucas and William P. Robinson Jr., D-Norfolk publicly have said they support Goodwyn, a partner in the Norfolk law firm, Wilcox & Savage. Meanwhile, the NAACP has publicly voiced support for Olds.
These factions, all clamoring for support, have black legislators scrambling to hold on to the cohesive black voting strength that propelled them into office.
Evidence that black voting strength is declining came in May, when, for the first time in 24 years, citizens elected only one African American to the nine-member City Council. For several decades, two and sometimes three blacks had served on the council at once.
Voter turnout in majority black precincts dropped as much as 20 percent during the May campaign.
``For whatever reasons, blacks feel that they lost ground,'' said Maurice Ward, who has served as a political consultant for many black candidates and as a legislative aide to former Del. Thomas Forehand.
``Blacks feel they do not have the clout that they once had,'' said Ward. ``Reflecting back now in the '70s and '80s, when we used to have meetings . .
In those days, said Ward, black leaders were able to mobilize their constituents - rich and poor alike - because, as second-class citizens, they shared common goals and common hardships.
``We discussed the problems in the community and we came out with one common goal, one common cause, a consensus on candidates and we worked in the community,'' he said. by CNB