THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080403
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10A EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Voters retained an incumbent and elected two newcomers and a former board member to fill four open seats on the School Board.
Board member James J. Wheaton led the field of nine candidates and Patricia P. Willis, Thomas L. Mercer Sr. and Allen H. Goode Jr. took remaining seats in the city's second School Board election in the past five months.
The School Board race was close, as expected, with 100 votes separating the third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers.
Goode, who served on the board from 1992 to 1994, said the long series of televised candidates' forums helped citizens make informed decisions.
``The forums were good. The people got a chance to question you and know another side of you,'' Goode said. ``I think that's what it was all about.''
Voters didn't have as many opportunities to meet and mingle with the candidates in the city's first School Board election in December. Then, voters had less than a month to acquaint themselves with 11 candidates vying for five seats.
Last year, the city set the special School Board election for Dec. 19, the earliest possible date after the U.S. Justice Department's August decision to drop its objections to Chesapeake's at-large voting system.
Voter turnout was surprisingly low - around 10 percent - considering city voters had approved the switch from an appointed to an elected School Board by a margin of nearly 5-to-1 in a 1993 referendum.
On Tuesday, about 35 percent of the city's registered voters braved wet, cold weather to vote. But some were still disappointed with the participation.
``It was really a low attendance and it was really surprising,'' said Deborah G. Dupree, who placed sixth. ``My only concern is that parents are supposed to be real involved with their children, and we were all disappointed with the turnout at the forums.
``It just gives a bad impression,'' she said.
Citizens have said throughout the election that they wanted candidates who could address concerns of overcrowding in the schools and advancing the use of technology in the schools.
Seth Bailey, who has a grandson attending Camelot Elementary School, said he found that in Mercer and Wheaton.
``My wife and I felt these candidates were most fair, insofar as helping our kids get a quality education, bringing in computers and technology to prepare them for the 21st century,'' Bailey said.
The new board members will serve four-year terms, beginning July 1.
The other five members elected in December have two-year terms. Their seats will be up for election in 1998. MEMO: Staff writer Angelita Plemmer contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, The Virginian-Pilot
In the hallway outside Republican headquarters at the Greenbrier
Holiday Inn Tuesday night, Patricia P. Willis, left, and her son
David, 10, greet a well-wisher moments after Willis was declared a
winner in the Chesapeake School Board election. Other winners were
James J. Wheaton, Thomas L. Mercer Sr. and Allen H. Goode Jr.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD RACE ELECTION RESULTS by CNB