THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511110156
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jennifer O'Donnell, Elizabeth Thiel and Eric Feber
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
NO NAIL-BITER HERE
When election returns come in, candidates often are surrounded by an entourage of supporters as they await the results.
Not so with William H. ``Bill'' Pierce, the 61-year-old independent candidate who ran for city council against Republican Dalton S. Edge and Democrat Dwight M. Parker.
As the election numbers were being slowly written on a large, white board at Chesapeake's Clerk of Court's office, Pierce stood by, no entourage and no supporters surrounding him.
While some candidates look on in nervous states, fretting, commenting and gesturing, Pierce was calm and collected.
As he waited, he casually trimmed his finger nails with a metal nail clipper.
OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS
It was a nervous Tuesday night for Mayor William E. Ward, who hoped against hope that his Democratic party would retain control of the clerk of court's office and gain a City Council seat held by a Republican.
He buzzed by the clerk's office a little after 7 p.m. The first early precinct returns were trickling in; clerk assistants recorded the numbers on a giant, white board. But it was too soon to tell anything.
It wasn't until after 8:30 that the vote became clear: Democrat Lillie M. ``Lil'' Hart had held onto the clerk's job, and Democrat Dwight M. Parker took the council seat.
Ward's party had won.
He showed up at the victory celebration at the Sunset Manor Hotel on South Military Highway just as the winners were taking the dais.
Ward's relief was visible on his face and in his posture. He let out a huge sigh when he took to the microphone to say a few words to the party's faithful.
``It was a hard-fought battle,'' he said.
Only then could he relax. Settling into a chair, preparing to offer his analysis of the election results, a supporter handed him a plastic cup full of beer. His Honor took a big gulp.
PASSING THE TIME
It was 7 p.m. on a cold, rainy election night, and the precincts had just closed.
Assistant clerks in the clerk of court's office were poised to answer phone calls from precinct workers, then record the vote totals on a huge, white board near their desks.
But no calls were coming in, yet.
``That's unusual, to come to work and not have anything to do,'' one clerk said.
Not for long. Pretty soon, vote tallies began pouring in.
EDGE-Y ELECTION NIGHT
Early in the evening during this past Tuesday's election night, the mood at the headquarters for Republican Dalton S. Edge, running for a Chesapeake city council seat, was decidedly upbeat and optimistic.
A couple of hundred supporters had gathered at Edge's temporary election night headquarters at the Seven Springs Country Club in the Las Gaviotas development.
``I think we're going to have a sweep,'' said Edge supporter Sarah Holland, commenting on the possibility of Republicans taking the council seat and the clerk of court's job.
But as the returns came in, it began to look worse and worse for the Edge and Republican camps.
Finally, when the returns were all in and the handwriting was being etched across the wall, supporters began leaving the headquarters in droves. A group of teenaged supporters quickly left in tears.
A supporter and South Norfolk Recreation Center precinct volunteer, Forrest G. Lankford, placed Edge's loss on William ``Bill'' Pierce's doorstep.
``Pierce came in and split the vote,'' he said. ``He's a spoiler, and that's why he came in. I'm disappointed, but I'm also old enough to get over it and go to work tomorrow morning.''
Even when the returns were all in, Edge was affable and upbeat, chatting with anyone who wanted to talk. Philosophical to the end, he didn't rule out running again.
``I think Abraham Lincoln lost a time or two before he ever won an election,'' Edge said. by CNB