THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060578
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Decision 96
SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 82 lines
Before the Republican takeover of Congress two years ago, voters across a disparate Third District agreed that the federal government could spend money, develop programs and improve life for them.
The GOP had their chance to talk about smaller government and returning power to the states, and the voters here were not impressed, wanting instead a more active U.S. Congress.
In returning Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott to Washington as their representative for a third time, Third District voters rejected the Republican agenda - just as Scott has done with his votes on Capitol Hill.
``Scott's a man of dignity and character,'' said Eddie M. Briley Jr., a 32-year-old teacher who lives in Portsmouth. ``He stood up to the Republicans. He spoke his mind instead of listening to polls.''
Gloria P. Christian, 58, who works for the Portsmouth public schools, said, ``He didn't get caught up in the riffraff. He didn't change his positions'' when the GOP took over Congress.
``Bobby Scott is for the people,'' said Dorothy Peeples, 52, a nurse who retired after becoming disabled.
``He's interested in looking out for the underdog, helping the lower class and the middle class, the working man,'' she said. ``Republicans are not interested in the middle class; they're for the elite. I'm a disabled person, and I see the Democrats looking out for my Social Security and being more lenient with cuts. The Republicans are trying to get rid of it, Medicare and Medicaid, even though it's very important to people, the disabled, the aged.''
Judy S. Harris, 53, a retired federal employee who lives in Portsmouth, said she voted for Scott because he was the more ``socially conscious'' candidate.
``Scott stood up for the issues when it was fashionable and when it was not fashionable.''
Kim Ames, a 32-year-old housekeeper for Norfolk State University, agreed. ``Bobby Scott is for all people, not just one race,'' she said. ``He's for everybody. He takes the interests in every situation at heart. He doesn't look at just one issue. He looks at all the issues.''
Some voters admitted they supported him because they had not heard of the challenger, Republican Elsie Goodwyn Holland, who is an assistant principal in the Richmond Public School System.
``She's a Republican, isn't she? And Bobby Scott's a Democrat? That's all I needed to know,'' said Leon Morris, 48, of Norfolk. ``This other lady, I don't know anything about her.''
Other voters said Holland got their vote because they were loyal to the GOP or because they did not like Scott.
``I haven't seen anything that (Scott's) done, really,'' said Jessie Benthall, a 57-year-old secretary at Riverside Hospital and resident of Newport News.
And Terry and Mary Ann Adams, both civil service workers and residents of Norfolk, said they voted for Holland because they are ``staunch'' Republicans. MEMO: Staff writers Battinto Batts Jr. and Vanee Vines contributed to
this report. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by TAMARA VONINSKI, The Virginian-Pilot
``I've tried to take a long-term approach to the issues, especially
with crime and health care. I'm delighted that the voters of the
Third District prefer a long-term, preventive approach to
problems.'' - Rep. Robert C. Scott on election night.
Graphic
SCOTT'S PRIORITIES
Education: Maintain funding for public schools; oppose
private-school vouchers; steer tax breaks to those seeking a college
education or vocational training; hold public forums with parents,
teachers and businesses to emphasize the need for role models in
keeping at-risk students in school.
Crime: Reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act, which gives money to programs that help keep kids
out of trouble; continue funding for the drug court program that
treats non-violent first offenders instead of sending them to jail;
and expand DARE programs, which teach students to avoid drugs.
Economy: Work with the rest of the Hampton Roads delegation to
maintain the amount of spending in the defense budget.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
RESULTS CONGRESSIONAL RACE VIRGINIA by CNB