THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603150655
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
H. Marks Richard is so proud of his two sons that he puts their accomplishments on his resume: graduates of top colleges, both medical doctors, one now a surgeon in residency at Harvard.
If elected to City Council, said Richard, a professor at Norfolk State and a longtime civic activist, he would take the same approach to the city as he did to his sons: working hard so they could do the best.
``All I asked of my family is that they do the best they can,'' Richard said. ``If you have confidence in people, they do better.''
Richard is making his second run for council, although his first in Superward 7. It's a run based on his long track record as a community leader and activist. Over the past two decades, he has led the Ingleside Civic League, was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that created the ward system and even was an active member of the anti-tax Norfolk Tea Party in the 1970s, which was true also of current Councilman W. Randy Wright.
Now, at 61, Richard hopes to take a seat on the council. He is running in a crowded field that has six candidates in all. The voters of Superward 7, he says, will decide.
Richard spoke from his waterfront home in Ingleside, where he has lived since 1972, overlooking Broad Creek. On the piano in the front room were multiple photos of his two sons, Howard and Robert - their graduations, weddings and other events.
On the gold couch beside him sat the Rev. I. Joseph Williams, Richard's campaign adviser - and next-door neighbor. Richard, said Williams of the 3,000-strong Antioch Baptist Church, is a ``family man'' and that this is important.
``We need that kind of leadership in the community, to bring the family back where it should be,'' Williams said.
Although he is running in a crowded field against five other contenders, Richard says he expects to win based on several advantages over his opponents.
For one thing, Richard says, he is the most qualified candidate. He has worked with his civic league, the NAACP, the Democratic Party and the Urban League. He is a lay minister in his church, St. Mary's Basilica, and involved in numerous other civic activities.
All these experiences, he said, not only prepare him for the job, but they also add up to a lot of people willing to work for his campaign, as well as give him votes.
Richard was cagey on saying what specific policies he would work for or against while on council. His political committee was meeting in a few days and would decide then what issues he would highlight, Richard said.
But he said he would of course focus on the usual three: crime, education and jobs. He also said that he would stay true to his roots: low taxes and concern for the underprivileged.
Richard came to Norfolk State University and the area in 1972, after a teaching stint at Ohio State University. His wife, Bertha, is a biology professor at Norfolk State.
He was raised in Baton Rouge, La., where he graduated valedictorian of his high school class. Before moving into academics, he served in the Army, where he became a Green Beret in the Special Forces.
``When you jump from an airplane, you don't know whether you are going to land on water, trees or land,'' Richard said, drawing a moral from his Army days. ``But wherever you land, you have to be prepared to deal with it.''
Such is his approach, Richard said, to council and politics. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Photo
H. MARKS RICHARD
Office sought: City Council seat, Superward 7.
Occupation: professor of mathematics, Norfolk State University;
former captain, U.S. Special Forces Green Beret.
Age: 61.
Education: doctorate, Ohio State University; master's degree,
University of Notre Dame; bachelor's degree, Southern University.
Community service: Eucharist minister, St. Mary's Basilica;
member, Norfolk City Democratic Committee; past president, Ingleside
Civic League; past vice president, NAACP; past president, St. Mary's
PTA; past president, Norfolk Catholic High School PTA; jury
commissioner, Norfolk Tea Party.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCILMANIC RACE CANDIDATE
SUPERWARD 7 by CNB