THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605090158
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 180 lines
CITIZENS POURED INTO the city's polls Tuesday, steady as the gray rain falling outside.
Some voted because it was their civic duty, because it was a habit, because it was one of the first times they could elect School Board members for themselves rather than relying on City Council appointments.
Others voted out of a deep concern about the city's direction.
Throughout this spring's campaign, and right up to the doors of the polls, citizens said they were anxious about how quickly Chesapeake is growing. They were worried about the strain growth is putting on city services such as schools, roads, police and fire departments and water supplies.
Their feelings showed in the results of the City Council races. Many voters vented their frustration on incumbents.
``I want a fresh change in office,'' said Roberta D. Edwards, a 40-year-old school bus driver.
``I feel like they have allowed developers carte blanche,'' said Peggy E. Couser, 46, a secretary for the school system. ``Growth has not been controlled. Now the taxpayers are footing the bill. Look at the problem with roads and with the water situation.''
Edwards' and Couser's sentiments reflected those of many other voters polled informally Tuesday.
Mayor William E. Ward was re-elected to his second full four-year term, but John A. Cosgrove ran a challenge that was stunningly close for a political outsider. Cosgrove, who ran on a Republican ticket that emphasized growth-control and Ward's financial backing from builders and developers, got 12,406 votes to Ward's 14,907.
Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr., who ran with Cosgrove, was defeated after four years on council and one year as second-in-command.
Those who were victorious in their council bids were either newcomers or relative newcomers.
Dwight M. Parker retained his seat, but he had only been on the council since November and so could not be considered an entrenched incumbent.
``That worked in my favor,'' Parker said.
Dalton S. Edge, who was appointed to council in the spring of 1995, lost his seat to Parker and then won it back Tuesday night, likely was in the same situation. Edge was the only candidate on the four-man Republican ticket to win.
Elizabeth P. Thornton, who ran on a slate with Parker and Ward, will begin her first term.
``Growth certainly is a concern and is on the minds of the public,'' Ward said. ``They made that clear. We clearly need to manage it and look carefully at rezoning applications and the infrastructures - roads and schools.
``But I think in the end, my victory showed that the citizens are aware that the business community is the economic lifeblood of the city. We must continue to attract business.''
William H. Pierce, who ran on the Republican ticket with Nance but also was defeated, said he feared that citizens will end up getting the reverse of what they say they want.
``Everything's going to get worse, in my view,'' he said. ``Tax and spend, borrow and spend - that's what you get under liberal leadership. If that's what the people want, that's what they're entitled to.''
The results were ironic in some cases, election watchers said. Defeated Republicans like Nance and Pierce, for example, came out more strongly during the campaign in favor of growth-control measures than Ward, Parker or Thornton.
And Ward's voter support put him over the top despite Cosgrove's efforts to link him to builders and developers.
Gene Waters, president of the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations, said that phenomenon may have been caused by voters' perceptions of which candidates were good leaders.
``There's a problem with people not knowing really, truly, which candidates are going to help them,'' said Waters, who backed Cosgrove in the campaign.
Some voters said they were swayed by candidates they believed would listen to them and respond to their concerns.
``I voted for Ward and Ed Hall,'' said Herbert E. Bryant, 51, a United Parcel Service driver. ``They seem to be pretty good people. . . stand behind their word. When I ask them something, they usually reply. That goes a long way with me.''
Other voters said they believed incumbent representatives were doing a good job under tough circumstances.
``I'm not sure that all of the growth we've had was within City Council's control,'' said E. Eugene Whitehurst, a 60-year-old retired civil engineer who supported Ward.
A few said they didn't agree that growth in Chesapeake so far has been a problem.
``I come from a big city and to me, this isn't big,'' said Darcy A. Amick, 41, a homemaker who lives in Western Branch.
``You have to remember, growth brings modernization, and I like that,'' she said.
Still, the overwhelming message from citizens was that something must be done to make sure that growth does not continue to tax city services.
Some voters, for example, expressed concern about how the police and fire departments were coping with an exploding population.
``One issue on my mind is the fact that the fire and police departments are understaffed,'' said James Todd McCrae, 24, a marketing representative and life-long Western Branch resident. ``I think the deaths of the two firefighters shows that.''
Firefighters Frank E. Young and John R. Hudgins Jr. died in March fighting a fire in an auto parts store. The Fire Department is investigating the causes. There has been debate over whether the fire truck the two were assigned to was adequately staffed.
There was no such clear message in the School Board ballot, in which voters were asked to choose four of the nine board members. The other five were elected during a special ballot in December, the city's first for School Board.
The biggest winner was the Chesapeake Education Association, which saw three of its four endorsed candidates capture success.
One was James J. Wheaton, who also was the only incumbent running. Wheaton was the highest vote-getter, with 13,974.
Allen H. Goode Jr., a former board member, and Thomas L. Mercer, a Methodist pastor, also won.
The CEA's only defeat was Harry A. Murphy, who at 11,082 ran a close fifth to Goode's fourth-place 11,145 votes.
The only successful candidate not backed by the CEA was Patricia P. Willis. Willis was endorsed by the Republican Party and came in a strong second to Wheaton, with 12,770 votes.
Poll workers said they sensed a lot of confusion among voters about who to choose for School Board. One said he noticed that many voters left the School Board portion of their ballots untouched.
``I think that people may have had a hard time discovering the issues,'' said unsuccessful candidate James G. Thomson. ``I think that as the campaign progressed, we had come to learn many of the things that could move people to act.
``And in that respect, even though I'm bone tired, it's unfortunate that we haven't had a longer time to develop a full public discussion about these matters.''
Wheaton said the results showed him citizens believe the school system is good, but has room for improvement.
``The school system, like anything else, is in a constant process of improvement,'' he said. ``I think the new School Board will be in agreement about the big issues, namely raising test scores, improving the facilities and school safety.''
Voters who did turn out for the School Board race said they looked for candidates who had varied community involvement and strong educational backgrounds.
Linda M. Vesey, 43, a school security monitor, said, ``I looked for candidates who I knew weren't just out for political gain, who had a record of community service, who had a record of putting feet to their words.'' MEMO: Staff writers John-Henry Doucette, Eric Feber, Deloris Moyler, Jennifer
O'Donnell, Angelita Plemmer, Susan Smith and Denise Watson contributed
to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Color cover photos by Mort Fryman
While trying to stay dry, poll workers Don Fowler and Carroll Hurley
pass out fliers at the fire station near B.M. Williams School
Anne Wood stations her baby, Anne, and her son, Breck, nearby while
she votes at Fentress Fire Station in Southern Chesapeake.
Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-ROBBEN
Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance is hugged before the final results showed
that he had lost.
Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Mayor William E. Ward wades into a crowd of supporters before giving
his victory speech.
Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
School Board candidate Patricia P. Willis and her son David look
over the leaderboard at GOP headquarters in Greenbrier Holiday Inn
on Tuesday night. Willis won a seat.
Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Mayoral candidate John A. Cosgrove and his wife Sue watch the
results. Cosgrove lost, but ran a surprisingly close race for an
outsider.
Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Incumbent School Board member James J. Wheaton won re-election.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION RESULTS CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL RACE CHESAPEAKE
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION CANDIDATE
by CNB