THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130368
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
If money talks, total dollars raised by School Board candidates so far amount to little more than a murmur.
On average, the 11 candidates vying for five seats in the city's first board election next Tuesday have raised about $1,684 by passing the hat or digging into their own pockets, according to campaign contribution reports filed this week.
Four candidates raised less than $900 and one, challenger Renee Hannas, listed no expenses or contributions.
Overall, $18,524 has been raised. In comparison, the Virginia Beach teachers group alone received about four times that amount in contributions for last year's board election in that city - and, on average, candidates brought in at least $3,000.
In Virginia Beach, the candidates with the most money spent on their behalf - the six backed by the Virginia Beach Education Association - swept the balloting. But in the Chesapeake election, which is practically devoid of heated controversies, the money has only trickled in.
Four incumbents and seven challengers are on the ballot. Three of the four candidates who have amassed the most cash are incumbents.
For the most part, Chesapeake candidates have raised just enough to dot the city with roadside placards, print up fliers, mail campaign literature and perhaps buy a few advertisements for an election that still has many voters wondering what's up.
``The only pressure I feel is for me to get my name out. I suppose it's a self-inflicted kind of pressure, but it simply takes money to get your name out there,'' said challenger Jeffrey A. Rowland, who has raised the most so far with a kitty of about $4,814 - which includes $1,000 of his own money. He's also spent the most so far: nearly $3,968.
A dispute with the U.S. Justice Department over whether board members would be elected at large, resolved this past summer after more than a year, forced the city to set the Dec. 19 date for the at-large election.
The candidates had until Nov. 20 to announce their plans to run, leaving some with little time to court voters or organize major fund-raising efforts during the holiday season and on the heels of last month's General Assembly election.
``I just couldn't see spending a lot of money because of the limited time frame we have,'' Hannas said. ``I just don't think it can make that much of an impact in, what, a month from the time everyone had to file to Election Day? I just tried the good old-fashioned way: going to door-to-door. . . word-of-mouth.''
Most candidates have employed a bargain-basement strategy, spending their own money or relying on professional acquaintances and relatives to pitch in with expenses. Twenty-six percent of the reported contributions, including loans, were from the candidates themselves.
There are some familiar players, however.
The Chesapeake Education Association's political action committee contributed a total of $1,000 - $250 each - to three incumbents and one challenger: L. Thomas Bray, Vice Chairwoman Barbara B. Head, James M. Reeves Sr. and Rowland.
Del. Lionell Spruill Sr., a Democrat, gave a total of $600 - $200 each - to three candidates: Head, Reeves and Rowland. His campaign treasurer is Jessie Lee Jr., who resigned from his chairmanship and his seat on the nine-member School Board earlier this year.
``First of all, there's going to be a light turn-out, and these people are not politicians - they don't know how to raise money,'' Spruill said Tuesday. ``They need a little bit (of money) to get them started. . . . I just wanted to help the good people who care about the kids and aren't politicians, people who will keep the unimportant politics out of it.''
Total contributions pale in comparison to what's spent for many City Council campaigns. The total financial picture won't be clear until Jan. 18, the deadline for board candidates to file their final financial reports.
The board's other four seats will be up for election in May.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD by CNB