THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506170092
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Elections '95
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
A Smithfield police officer and a Hampton probation and parole officer, who also is a member of the Windsor Town Council, are running against incumbent Charles W. Phelps in the local sheriff's race.
Charles W. ``Charlie'' Phelps, incumbent, 51, is a Newport News native. He spent 16 years on the Smithfield Police Department before first seeking the elected post in 1983. He was defeated by the incumbent that year, but he came back to win four years later and currently is serving his second term. Phelps has said that his campaign will be based on his years of experience and on his performance during the two terms he's served.
Among his accomplishments as sheriff, Phelps has spread the DARE drug prevention program throughout the county and plans next year to expand the program into the middle schools. He also has initiated a ``community-based'' system of policing the county, with satellite offices established in Smithfield, Windsor and Carrsville.
``The issue is the amount of law enforcement experience the candidates have,'' Phelps said. ``I have almost 25 years of experience.''
Phelps is running as an independent.
William T. ``Billy'' Chrisman, 38, is a native of Portsmouth. He has been a member of the Smithfield Police Department since 1989 and has gained extensive training since joining the force.
Chrisman, formerly a general and electrical contractor, has attended a number of schools through the Hampton Roads Regional Academy of Criminal Justice and the Department of Criminal Justice Services. He is a general field training instructor and a firearms instructor on the Smithfield force.
Chrisman said recently that he believes the sheriff's department needs to work harder to become a part of the growing community, particularly the youth community. He would like to see a deputy assigned to each school to interact with the students.
``The sheriff's department needs to be run like a business,'' Chrisman said. ``It does provide a service to the community. The county is ready for a change.''
Chrisman also is running as an independent.
Shelton Spivey, 45, is an Isle of Wight County native who grew up in Carrsville. He spent 18 years with the Suffolk Sheriff's Department before joining the Community Diversion Incentive Probation Program in Hampton, where he is a probation and parole officer.
Spivey has a master's degree in urban studies, counseling and education from Old Dominion University and a master's from Golden State University in public administration/government. He is an adjunct professor at both Paul D. Camp and Tidewater community colleges.
Spivey has said that he will run on a campaign platform of putting frugality back into the sheriff's department in Isle of Wight. If elected, he said he would move one satellite office from Smithfield to Carrollton, where the population is growing so rapidly.
``I think I'm the most qualified candidate,'' Spivey said. ``For the money this position pays, the county should get the most qualified applicant.'' Spivey is running as an independent.
Incumbents in three other constitutional offices - Commonwealth's Attorney, W. Parker Councill; Commissioner of Revenue, Gerald Gwaltney; and Treasurer, Beryl Perry Jr. - will be running unopposed in Isle of Wight as will two members of the Board of Supervisors, Malcolm T. ``Mac'' Cofer in the Smithfield District and O.A. Spady in the Newport District.
But a last-minute contest popped up in the Windsor District just before the filing deadline last week. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Charles W. Phelps
William T. Chrisman
Shelton Spivey
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE by CNB