THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510210278
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Election '95: Campaign Notebook
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 164 lines
Ed Schrock has the technique down to a science: He rings the doorbell and waits a few seconds. If there are two cars in the driveway, he has a little patience; if the pavement is clear, he starts scribbling his message right away: ``Sorry I missed you. Ed Schrock.''
Then he charges off to the next door.
``I'm not walking too fast for you am I?''
Schrock, who is running for the 7th District state Senate seat in Virginia Beach now held by Clarence A. ``Clancy'' Holland, is getting his message out, in part, with old-fashioned, door-to-door campaigning. He had visited 18,843 doorways as of Friday.
All that exposure has its price. Schrock said he has been bitten by two dogs. His car was car shot at by teens, and Schrock reported the shooting to the 3rd police precinct.
Schrock says, however, that thanks to all the walking, his cholesterol is way down and he's never felt healthier. And he's far from the only candidate to rely on this time-honored technique this election.
Holland said he has gone door-to-door in each of his four campaigns for the state Senate. He enjoys the contact with people, Holland said, but his medical practice doesn't leave him much time during prime door-knocking hours.
``I knocked on doors in 1983, 1987, 1991 and now 1995,'' Holland said. ``I enjoy it to a point, it's just that I work full-time and I don't have the hours that he does.''
Schrock left his job as a money manager this spring when he decided to run for office.
William S. ``Billy'' Moore Jr., Democratic incumbent in the 79th House district that covers parts of Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk, won his first race in 1983, in part because of his efforts to speak to every one of his 61,000 voting constituents. His opponent, Republican D.R. ``Dan'' Evans, is also knocking on doors.
Campaign season is in full throttle now, with the Nov. 7 election less than three weeks away. That means the 33 local candidates in contested races for statewide offices will be spending almost every day - from the time school lets out until darkness makes constituents suspicious of visitors - walking through neighborhoods asking for votes.
They'll paste campaign stickers on children, offer refrigerator magnets to adults, smile constantly at everyone, and hand out fliers to anyone who will take them.
These election-season grip-'n'-grin exercises may be a biennial distraction. But they provide voters an unusual opportunity to quiz representatives and those who want to be.
What will you do to my taxes?
How do you feel about abortion?
What can be done to improve schools?
Although most voters just nod politely at the candidate, take the campaign literature and close the door, others like to engage in more in-depth conversations.
``Are you a Republican?'' asked one woman in the Cypress Cove neighborhood of Portsmouth, when Billy Moore rang her front bell.
``I'm a Democrat,'' Moore answered.
``Sorry,'' she said, starting to close the door.
``Do you want to vote for an individual or a party?'' Moore countered.
``I really want the people of Portsmouth to start working together.''
``I'd like you to consider me.''
``I will. You have a mighty nice smile,'' concluded the woman - a potential convert.
Moore, Evans, Holland and Schrock all insist they enjoy going door to door. But clearly, it isn't always easy. Moore said he wore out three pairs of shoes during his first campaign. And, as Schrock has learned in his first campaign, angry dogs are an occupational hazard.
So why do candidates put up with sweltering heat and heavy rains, menacing dogs and rude homeowners to show up at thousands of doors in their districts? Because it works.
``It's an extremely effective way to arouse the interest and the support of people,'' said Bill Wood, executive director of the Virginia Institute of Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.
``We've been told, if you stop by someone's house and your opponent doesn't stop, you have an excellent chance of getting the vote, even if the homeowner agrees more with your opponent's opinions than yours.''
Wood said voters are so disillusioned with politicians today, that candidates who can show they are real people rather than pictures in the paper, have a leg up.
Glen Sussman, an assistant professor of political science at Old Dominion University, said the only down side to door-knocking campaigns is that the level of contact between the candidate and constituent is usually pretty shallow. Knock, smile, hand over literature, ask for vote, smile again, move on to the next house and repeat.
``Going door to door is in a way more symbolic. It shows you're trying to reach out and connect with citizens,'' Sussman said. ``It's one thing to stand on the front porch and greet each other, but it's another to talk about the issues.''
Evans, who is trying to unseat Moore, said even if he doesn't always talk to people in depth, he still gets a chance to see how they live and to hear what they care about most.
What has amazed him about going door to door is how much he's learned, Evans said.
``I'm finding parts of Portsmouth I never knew existed. It's fantastic. When you just drive through a city, you miss stuff.''
``I like the city more, because I've seen things,'' he continued. ``Get out and walk in your neighborhoods and see what a beautiful city you live in.''
Most candidates are high-tech about whose door they will knock on, and most have a pretty good system. They all carry computer printouts telling them who the registered voters are in each household. If there are no voters, the candidates won't stop.
Schrock is methodical. The former Navy man will park at one end of the street, walk up the right side, then back down the left. Streets with houses on only one side drive him nuts.
His efficiency pays off in the number of doors he hits. His highest day was 333, on a Saturday in midsummer when the sun didn't set until nearly 9. ``Sometimes people will talk to you for a minute, two minutes,'' Schrock said. ``Sometimes they'll talk for a half hour - and you have to listen.''
Other candidates seemed less concerned about covering ground.
Evans said he recently spent nearly two hours with a woman in his district who wanted to talk.
Frank W. Wagner, a Republican who represents the 21st House District in Virginia Beach, said that as an incumbent, he has to spend more time at each household then he did before he won his seat. Now, people want his help, not just his campaign literature.
Moore's campaigning style is looser than most because he knows his district and his constituents so well. As he walks through the Cypress Cove section of Portsmouth, residents wave hello, gather to chat and receive him warmly.
``Well Billy, how are you?'' asks Evelyn Carr, quickly recognizing Moore when she opens her door.
``Yes, you can count on us, fellow,'' her neighbor tells him.
``You know damn well I'm going to vote for you,'' says another man, softly scolding Moore for wasting time in Cypress Cove when he knows he's already got the precinct locked up.
Moore remembers most names without prodding from the computerized registration lists campaign aide Frankie Edmonson has brought along. They jokingly test each other - Edmonson gives Moore the wrong name to see if he'll notice; Moore makes fun of Edmonson's reliance on the printout.
But despite the pleasantries, many homeowners interviewed last week said the face-to-face visits won't affect which holes they punch out on Election Day.
``It doesn't matter that he came here,'' Amy Johnson, a resident of the Lawson Forest section of Virginia Beach, said after Schrock left her front lawn. ``I usually vote Republican.''
A few doors down, Charlotte Perry wanted to ask Schrock a few questions before she made any promises.
``What are your feelings about the abortion issue?'' Perry started.
Schrock explained that he opposes abortion for gender selection and birth control, but would consider it in cases of rape or when the life of the mother is at risk.
``That's pretty much the main thing. Thank you.'' Perry said, when he was finished. ``Thank you for stopping by, that's refreshing.''
Perry said Schrock's visit probably won't change her vote. She's still more inclined to vote for Holland, she said, even if he hadn't yet made it to her door. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BETH BERGMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
Ed Schrock, running for the state Senate in the 7th District, had
visited 18,843 doorways in Virginia Beach as of Friday.
Photo by BETH BERGMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
Charlotte Perry, of the Lawson Forest section of Virginia Beach,
wanted to know state Senate candidate Ed Schrock's position on the
abortion issue. But she later said that the candidate's visit
probably won't prevent her from voting for his opponent.
KEYWORDS: CAMPAIGNING CANDIDATE by CNB