THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 1995 TAG: 9503050083
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Want to become a City Council member without spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours running a campaign? It's quite a political plum.
Better get the attention of one of the Virginia Beach council members, then, because in two weeks they're going to pick a new colleague to fill out the term of Councilman John D. Moss. He's resigning to move to Tennessee.
The truth is, however, you're probably too late. Tuesday is the deadline for nominations. All the likely candidates, many of them insiders who have been maneuvering for months, appear to have already lined up.
You didn't vote for them, you may not have heard of them, but one of a small field of Virginia Beach residents - right now it looks like ten - will become a new City Council member.
Based on interviews with council members, the field of candidates now includes, in alphabetical order: Nony Abrajano, Al Balko, William J. ``Bill'' Cashman Jr., Harold Heischober, Manuel A. Hipol, Reba McClanan, Delceno C. Miles, Ken Palmer, Robert C. Spadaccini Sr. and Jody M. Wagner.
Some are former members of the council, others have run for it unsuccessfully in the past, and most are active in civic organizations.
Not all of those are certain to be nominated by the ten remaining council members.
The entire council will interview those who make the cut in public on March 17 and vote later that day. The winner must get six votes, a clear majority. The city charter leaves the replacement to the council.
It's not the most accessible process possible, but council members and even some civic leaders said it gets the job done and keeps the council moving with minimum interruption. The proposed 1995-96 city budget comes out at the end of this month, and the council needs its new member on board for that.
``It's a tough decision, but I don't think we get any benefit at all if we open it up for four nights of public hearings,'' said Councilman W.W. ``Billy'' Harrison. ``Get a parade of people who were nominated, and I don't know how you'd ever weigh that.
``The people who want it badly enough have been running all over town for several months.''
Councilwoman Nancy Parker said, ``It's a very powerful gift that we're giving to somebody. . . We're looking for people who have shown some thought and have some grasp about the city and how it works, people who've rolled up their sleeves and gotten their fingernails dirty in trying to make the city a better place.
``I will support whoever wins the six votes, unless it turns out to be Frankenstein.''
Civic leaders interviewed said they were less concerned with how wide-open the process is than they were with the quality of the person chosen.
Real estate agency owner Deane Williams said he takes a close interest in the council's workings because, ``I like having people of intelligence representing me, and always have. Most people do not have the time or inclination to get involved in day-to-day politics like this. They just plain don't want to be bothered.''
To select the new council member, he said, ``As far as the public being involved, about the only way I could see it is if they could schedule a public hearing. I wouldn't want to see an election scheduled.''
A past director of the Council of Civic Organizations, Jim Willenbrink, said, ``How do you get the voice of the public? That is a good question, and it deserves some profound thought. They could probably send a flyer or a questionnaire out to the organizations. . . I'm not sure there's an optimal way.''
The winner, he said, should be ``someone who would go in with an open mind, unbiased and with no strong ties or affiliations to a business group or association that would present a conflict of interest.''
What do the candidates think? The past council members - McClanan, Balko and Heischober - already had the inside contacts. Others knew people to call.
One, public relations executive Delceno C. Miles, said, ``I haven't identified any process here. You're still at the whim of somebody choosing you over other candidates. This way, instead of 50,000 or 60,000 people, it's 10.'' by CNB