THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609150043
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 245 lines
Looking back on his 18 years in Congress, G. William Whitehurst does not come easily to fond memories. Instead, he remembers the frustration that marked his final years of service.
His career spanned Watergate, Abscam and the Vietnam War, admitted low points for the country. But it was the institution, Whitehurst said, that was sagging under the weight of its responsibilities, and he worries that it may be sagging still.
``I felt intense frustration in the House,'' the 71-year-old former congressman said recently. ``And more than anything was the inability or unwillingness to address deficits in what I thought were realistic terms. We had entitlements in place and no one thought to rein them, especially in the 1980s. We didn't address them responsibly.
``I found myself wishing we had a parliamentary system, where the majority party governs and there is an election every four years that would have given the voters a chance to keep the majority or let a new one rule,'' he said. ``Here people go their own way, blaming the executive branch, or Congress, while the nation was awash in a sea of red ink.''
As the election season begins again, three congressional races are being contested in South Hampton Roads.
All three incumbents are seasoned politicians and Democrats who hold jobs in an institution that is facing near-historic low marks from a discouraged populace.
A CBS-New York Times poll in June found that 19 percent of respondents approved of the job Congress was doing. That was the second-lowest finding in 20 years of the poll. In 1992, at the height of the House banking scandal, the rating was 17 percent.
The incumbents bring to the campaign all the strengths of incumbency, leaving challengers with long odds of victory and suggesting that voters may hate the institution in general but like their congress member in particular.
Second District Rep. Owen B. Pickett, who has represented Virginia Beach and Norfolk residents for 10 years, is challenged by John F. Tate, the director of telecommunications for the National Right to Work Committee.
Fourth District Rep. Norman Sisisky faces Anthony J. Zevgolis, an insurance agent from Hopewell, in his bid for an eighth two-year term to continue serving voters from Chesapeake to his hometown of Petersburg.
Third District Rep. Robert C. Scott hopes to land a third term as the first African American elected this century to represent Virginia, while Elsie Goodwyn Holland, an assistant principal from the Richmond public schools system, hopes to unseat him.
Each candidate has a motive for running. Incumbents stress years of loyal constituent service while challengers call for change.
But the job's demands are more than most voters probably know, Whitehurst said.
``Always, a congressman serves as an ombudsman,'' said Whitehurst, who served in Washington from 1969 through 1986. ``Scads of people came to see me about all kinds of problems, from their Social Security checks and travel visas, to getting granddad in a veteran's hospital, all sorts of things. Shipyards approached me that wanted to stay open. Those issues did not abate in any way.''
In many ways, he said, that was the easy part, the one-on-one meetings with ordinary people from Virginia. And they were the high points about serving in office, he added.
Being the link for ordinary people into the monolith that is the Washington bureaucracy is a key reason why many congress members like their jobs and why many people have reason to believe in their work.
``I don't look back with too much bitterness,'' he said. ``I was honored to serve. I didn't lie, steal, or bounce any checks, and that's no big deal since you're not supposed to do that anyhow. I have a lot of great memories. But I left with a feeling of great frustration and a feeling that the machine was not functioning as it should.''
He cited an example.
When Whitehurst first came to Washington, Rep. L. Mendel Rivers ran the Armed Services Committee from ``his hip pocket.'' Whitehurst said the authorization bill would arrive in May or June with few amendments.
``Some called it a locomotive, but it ran on time and it stayed on track,'' Whitehurst said.
The year before he left office, the Armed Services Committee, now called the National Security Committee, got its authorization bill in August and took two weeks to pass it with 100 amendments.
``We would be in the House not until 8 or 9 p.m. but until midnight and sometimes later,'' he said. ``The last year I was there, we did not get the bill until September, and Oct. 1 is the deadline. We had one week and 200 amendments.''
The experience, he said, ``demonstrates graphically what's wrong with the place.''
``There is no way under God's sun that you can take 200 amendments and give them any justice,'' he said. ``Over half of them were given about five minutes' discussion. Think about it. It's 1 a.m. You've been there since 8 a.m. You have not seen the amendment. You're tired. There's been no hearing. Then someone gets up and tells you something about it. You could be a rocket scientist and not understand it. It was madness.''
The job of legislators has changed so much in the past 30 years that it may be difficult for many voters to see it from their vantage point.
``They're a lot busier now,'' said C. Lawrence Evans, an associate professor of government at the College of William and Mary.
The House may go into session at noon, but there are committee meetings that must be attended and constituent needs that must be met.
``Often, they have to be in two places at the same time,'' said Evans, who served on the staff of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress in 1993, which sought reforms in the way Congress was set up.
``They jump back and forth from committee to the floor constantly,'' he said. ``There are many meetings with constituents and other House members.''
If it's not regular work, it's pressure from lobbyists. In 1972, there were fewer than 600 political action groups in Washington. Today, there are more than 4,000.
In addition, the average House member probably gets about 2,000 to 3,000 letters a week, Evans said. Many of them are complex and require a thoughtful response. They have well-thought-out concerns.
``The demands on their time are huge.''
Whether the average person understands may not matter.
``People have a basic understanding of a congressman's job in broad terms; they don't know the details,'' Evans said. ``Members are spread too thinly. The process is too partisan and conflict-ridden.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Photos
Rep. Owen B. Pickett
John F. Tate
Rep. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott
Elsie Goodwyn Holland
Rep. Norman Sisisky
Anthony J. Zevgolis
LOCAL HOUSE CANDIDATES
Rep. Owen B. Pickett, Democrat, 2nd District
Age: 66
Career:
U.S. House of Representatives, 1987-present
Virginia House of Delegates, 1972-86
Attorney, 1955-87
Education:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, B.S., 1952
University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law, 1955
Admitted to Virginia State Bar in 1955 and began practice in
Richmond
Awarded certificate as Certified Public Accountant in Virginia,
1955
Residence: Virginia Beach
Family:
Married to former Sybil Catherine Kelly
Three children, six grandchildren
John F. Tate, Republican, 2nd District
Age: 34
Career:
Director, National Right to Work Telecommunications Center,
1990-96
Legislative Director, U.S. Defense Committee, 1983-85, 1987-89
Civic:
Industrial Cooperative Work Training Program and the Cooperative
Education Marketing Program, 1990-present
Kempsville Presbyterian Church, member
National Rifle Association, member
Education: University of Virginia, B.A., 1987
Residence: Virginia Beach
Family:
Married to former Kathleen McConnell
Three children
Rep. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, Democrat, 3rd District
Age: 49
Career:
U.S. House of Representatives, 1992-present
Virginia Senate, 1983-92
Virginia House of Delegates, 1977-82
Attorney, 1973-91
Army Reserves, 1973-76
Army National Guard, 1970-73
Education:
Boston College Law School, J.D., 1973
Harvard, B.A., 1969
Residence: Newport News
Family: Divorced
Elsie Goodwyn Holland, Republican, 3rd District
Age: 61
Career:
Assistant Principal, Richmond Public Schools, 1995-present
Principal, Albemarle County Public Schools, 1994-95
Adjunct Professor, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College,
1984-87
Director of Employment Services, Equal Employment Opportunity,
1980-82
Adjunct Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1977-80
Early Childhood Education Program Director, Virginia Union
University, 1977-80
Assistant Superintendent, Virginia Department of Education,
1970-72
Teacher, Chesterfield County Elementary, 1955-68
Civic:
Charter Member, National Political Congress of Black Women,
1995-present
Board of Visitors, University of Virginia, 1994-present
Citizens' Advisory Committee, Department of Agriculture, 1984-92
Board of Visitors, Virginia State University, 1980-84
Member, Crusade for Voters, 1978-present
Board of Directors, Richmond Branch, NAACP, 1979-81
Education:
University of Virginia, Ed.D, 1975
Virginia State University, M.S., 1969
Virginia State University, B.S., 1955
Residence: Richmond
Family: Married to Kenneth G. Holland
Rep. Norman Sisisky, Democrat, 4th District
Age: 69
Career:
U.S. House of Representatives, 1982-present
Virginia General Assembly, 1973-82
Businessman, Pepsi of Petersburg distribution company, 1949-82
Navy, 1945-46
Education: Virginia Commonwealth University, B.S., 1949
Residence: Petersburg
Family:
Married to Rhoda Sisisky
Four children and seven grandchildren
Anthony J. Zevgolis, Republican, 4th District
Age: 59
Career:
Insurance executive/owner, Tony Zevgolis Insurance Agency,
1978-present
Hopewell City Council, 1990-present
U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve, 1954-62
U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve, 1962-64
Education:
Nationwide Insurance Agent & Marketing Development School, 1978
Lacaze Institute of Drafting & Engineering, 1975
ICS Schools, Business Administration Program, A.A., 1974
U.S. Army Infantry Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Ga.,
1962-63
U.S. Armed Forces Institute, General Education, 1957-59
Civic:
Board of Governors, American Hellenic Educational Progressive
Association
Hopewell Rotary Club, 1989-present
Member, Commonwealth Alliance for Drug Rehabilitation and
Education
Residence: Hopewell
Family: Married to the former Vickie Lynn Davis
KEYWORDS: HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE VIRGINIA by CNB