THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020414
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS AND LISE OLSEN, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Charles D. Clark, one of 13 candidates running for an at-large, two-year term on the Virginia Beach School Board, says his campaign has spent a grand total of $75 for the May 7 election. He used his own money to buy fliers to hand out at candidate forums.
For the most part, he's relying on media coverage and public forums to get his face and message before a public that could be forgiven for being a little confused: Beach voters will have to select seven board members from 43 candidates, most of whom are political novices and largely unknown.
``Let's be realistic. It doesn't make sense to me to spend a lot of money on advertising when people can choose from that many,'' Clark, a real estate appraiser making his first run for office, said Wednesday. ``I've never voted for somebody because I saw a sign on a street corner. I don't feel I need to go broke just to volunteer my services.''
At a time when political campaigning has become more sophisticated - and expensive - most school board candidates in South Hampton Roads are running relatively low-budget races, according to campaign expense reports filed this week.
In Virginia Beach, 10 candidates, including two who have since dropped out, reported that they didn't raise or spend any money.
Of 74 school board candidates filing campaign reports, only 19 of them - about 26 percent - had spent more than $2,000 as of Monday's reporting deadline. Overall, school board candidates on average raised and spent less than a fifth of what council hopefuls did in local cities, a Virginian-Pilot computer analysis showed.
In Virginia Beach, City Council candidates on average reported raising $12,891 and spending $11,053. By contrast, Beach School Board candidates reported an average of $1,773 in contributions and $2,113 in expenses.
Nine candidates running for four School Board seats in Chesapeake spent an average of $2,507, the highest in the region. Suffolk candidates spent $150 on average, while in Portsmouth, 11 of the 16 School Board candidates reported spending $827 on average. Five Portsmouth School Board candidates failed to meet Monday's deadline to file campaign reports.
Many of the school board candidates regionwide have relied on their own money, including loans to themselves, the reports showed.
Candidates were required to report only contributions over $100, and even candidates with the biggest bucks reported the bulk of those were in the $100 to $200 range.
Virginia Beach candidate Rosemary A. Wilson, a homemaker who has the support of a who's who of political movers and shakers, reported the wealthiest campaign chest at $18,730. Most of her reported donations - 19 of 29 - were for $200. She listed one $2,000 donation - from her husband, Thomas. She also received one $1,000 donation, from ESG Enterprises, a firm run by well-known developer Eddie Garcia. She gave herself $500.
Only two other candidates - incumbent James Wheaton in Chesapeake and attorney Neil L. Rose in Virginia Beach, who is running for one of the same at-large, four-year seats as Wilson, reported raising more than $10,000.
Only Wilson and Virginia Beach candidate Ben A. Krause, who is running for the Lynnhaven Burrough seat, reported spending more than $10,000.
In Suffolk, six candidates running for three seats - two of them contested - reported raising $405 and spending $900. No single contributor gave a candidate more than $100.
In Portsmouth, dentist Elizabeth Daniels' $3,786 in campaign expenses accounts for more than 40 percent of the $9,101 that 11 candidates reported spending. One candidate listed a donation of three books of stamps.
The crowded field in Virginia Beach has made life difficult for candidates to set themselves apart. More money has been spent in the Beach School Board race - $101,466 - than in any other city.
And money could play a critical role. Spending reports show that 26 of the candidates, or 60 percent, have spent less than $1,000. By contrast, nine candidates account for more than $74,000 of the spending.
Joel R. Rubin, who runs a local public relations firm and is serving as a political consultant to Neil Rose, said spending money on advertising was essential to get out his message in a race involving 22 candidates. The large field has added a unique problem in the race for the two at-large, four-year seats: Candidates for the race fill two pages in the ballot, Rubin said. Rose, whose name is on the second page, is spending money to make sure voters turn the page.
KEYWORDS: CAMPAIGN FINANCES CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS by CNB