THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996              TAG: 9603270413
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines

RIDDICK MAKES IT CLEAR: HE WANTS BLACK MEMBERS FOR CERTAIN SEATS THE ISSUE WAS RAISED AGAIN AT TUESDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING.

The question of whether race should be a deciding factor in who runs for office resurfaced Tuesday night as Councilman Paul R. Riddick reiterated his view that some seats on City Council should only be held by black people.

Riddick, Herbert M. Collins and the Rev. Joseph N. Green Jr., who are black members of City Council, have criticized a white man for running for the Superward 7 seat, which represents a predominately black ward.

Tuesday, Riddick expanded on his earlier remarks after he was challenged by two men - one white, one black - who stood side by side at the podium in the council chambers and said they were angered by the position Riddick and Collins advanced on the matter.

Ken Grow, who is white, and Chuck Saunders, an African-American, said they didn't want such divisive stances.

``We don't want a black or a white Norfolk,'' Grow said, ``we want a black and a white Norfolk.''

Grow noted that he, a white man, was married to a black woman, while Saunders, a black man, was married to a white woman. Did Riddick and Collins want to resegregate the city, Grow asked?

Riddick responded that he would ``work my entire life to see that Ward 7 is held by a black person.''

Then he added that he would do the same for the wards he and Collins now represent.

``As long as I'm here, I will work to see that Ward 3, Ward 4 and Ward 7 are held by black people.''

Collins represents Ward 3, and Riddick, Ward 4. Both are black-majority. Like Ward 7, they were created in 1992 after the U.S. Justice Department ordered the city to drop its at-large system, saying it weakened black voting strength.

The controversy highlights two differing viewpoints on race, with some residents saying racial diversity on the council is a top priority, while others reject any implication that only people of a certain color can run for some council seats.

Councilman G. Conoly Phillips, a frequent foe of Riddick on questions of race, later said Riddick's remarks showed ``there is a racial division on council'' that mirrored one in the city.

``It's sad,'' Phillips said.

Collins, often the conciliator on such issues, did not distance himself from his earlier position that the ward should be reserved for black candidates.

But he won over a crowd of police and firefighters at the meeting to lobby for better retirement benefits by noting that black council members were fighting for the officers' better benefit package.

``I'm black, and there are some sensitivities I have because of that,'' Collins said. ``This black mixture on council is very necessary.''

Green, whose seat is open because he is retiring, did not attend Tuesday's council session.

KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL by CNB