THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9603300272
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Feuding Suffolk Republicans failed to resolve their differences Friday - either in court or at the ballot box.
A conservative faction ousted from the city's GOP committee two years ago regained one top post and tied for a second.
But conservatives' bid for chairmanship fizzled after their candidate was ruled ineligible on a technicality.
Conservatives went to court in a last-ditch effort to put their full slate on the ballot, but Circuit Judge Rodham Delk Jr. declined to intervene.
For several years, Suffolk Republicans have been split by personality conflicts and ideological rifts. Things got so tense leading up to Friday's vote that the city police had to be summoned to one member's home when a dispute threatened to get out of hand.
``It's petty stuff,'' said Bill Davis, who formed the local GOP committee back in 1952.
In balloting Friday, 168 party faithful filed through City Council chambers to vote for a new slate of officers for the next two years. Elected were two moderate candidates: Kenneth R. Carpenter, chairman; and Arthur Whitener, vice chairman.
Lloyd Dunnavant of the conservative ``pro-family'' ticket was elected treasurer. And Elizabeth Youmans and Gretchen Heal tied for secretary with 78 votes each. Party leaders will later decide to break the tie or create two secretary positions. by CNB