THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 22, 1997 TAG: 9702220341
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 105 lines
Del. Robert E. Nelms' face lit up when the conversation turned to his proposed study that could have saved homeowners thousands of dollars in financing costs.
``That's a great bill,'' he said. ``That should have been front-page news across the state.''
But the Capitol press corps ignored the proposal, just as they have done with nearly every piece of legislation the Suffolk Republican has sponsored during his six-year tenure in the House of Delegates.
The only statewide headlines that Nelms has ever generated grew from his arrest for indecent exposure in a Richmond park last year and his tortured legal strategy that eventually led him to plead guilty.
Nelms, 37, said he hopes to move beyond the negative publicity when he runs for re-election this year.
``I've put that behind me. It's that simple. I have worked very hard as the delegate of the 76th District. I hope people agree that I have done a good job. That is what the campaign will be about.''
Rivals - including some Republicans - are expected to make it difficult for Nelms to forget his conviction on a misdemeanor morals charge. Suffolk Republican Chairman Kenneth Carpenter said Nelms' legal problems make it likely that he will face a challenge for the GOP nomination.
``It's just like Ollie North,'' Carpenter said. ``Every article about him mentioned something about Iran-Contra. The same is true when people talk about Robert.''
Nelms requested a GOP primary, which will be June 10. The deadline for intraparty challengers is April 11.
``I don't know,'' Nelms said when asked if he thought another Republican would enter the race. ``If someone were going to oppose me, it would probably be a good time to do it.''
Democrats have their fingers crossed that Nelms will win the GOP nomination.
The district - which encompasses most of Suffolk and portions of Chesapeake and Isle of Wight County - is so conservative that Democrats say their only hope of regaining the seat is for Nelms to emerge bloodied from a GOP primary.
Democrats have talked to several potential candidates, but so far no one has stepped forward.
``We want to see if Del. Nelms gets the nomination,'' said Burt Rohrer, spokesman of the state Democratic Party.
Since his election in 1991, Nelms has devoted most of his energy to looking after his constituents. He maintained such a low profile that James C. Roberts, one of the most skilled lobbyists, said he never met Nelms until after he was hired to represent the Republican in court.
``I had never spoken with him,'' Roberts said.
Nelms' biggest legislative achievement came last year when he sponsored a bill that gives developers more options in complying with federal wetlands regulations. The measure, which became law, won praise from both homebuilders and environmentalists.
The success, however, was overshadowed by his arrest by an undercover vice officer in a Richmond park known as a cruising area for homosexual men.
Nelms claimed he was innocent of indecent exposure, that he had stepped off a hiking trail near the James River to answer nature's call.
In court, Nelms tried to avoid prosecution by claiming that, as a General Assembly member, he was immune from arrest. He later dropped the immunity bid, saying he looked forward to his day in court. In the end, Nelms pleaded guilty to the morals charge. He was fined $50, given a 30-day suspended jail term and ordered to stay out of Richmond city parks.
The guilty plea meant the Richmond vice officer was never called to testify. Prosecutors have refused to release the officer's notes, saying they will do so in the future only if Nelms publicly denies any wrongdoing.
In the 12 months since his arrest, Nelms has kept a low profile in his district. He declined requests for interviews. He was a no-show at several public events he had attended in past years.
In an interview, Nelms said his absences were because of a family illness that has demanded time of him and his wife. ``Life teaches you what's important,'' he said, his eyes welling. ``It's put a lot of things in perspective for me and Diane.''
Nelms came to the General Assembly this year with a modest agenda. His legislation included bills that would allow the city of Chesapeake to privatize abandoned vehicle sales and Suffolk schools to use fingerprints when checking employees' backgrounds.
His prized bill called for a study of private mortgage insurance paid by people who put less than 20 percent down on a house.
The insurance - typically costing between $50 and $100 a month - is paid by the buyer, but it protects the lender.
Nelms said he wanted to study whether homeowners should continue to pay for the insurance for the life of the loan, even after their equity has grown to the point that lenders are no longer at risk.
Nelms said that homeowners who take the loan to term can be overcharged by thousands of dollars.
New York recently passed a law that cuts off private mortgage insurance after the homeowner reaches a 40 percent equity share in the original purchase, he said.
The Senate Rules Committee killed the proposed study after the Virginia Bankers Association argued that Congress is considering federal laws on the same topic.
Nelms said he was disappointed that the Capitol press did not write about the issue, which recently was the subject of a ``Fleecing of America'' segment on NBC Nightly News.
But Nelms made the news only once this year - when he introduced legislation to repeal the legislative immunity he invoked last year. ILLUSTRATION: Robert Nelms hopes that people feel he does a good
job.
KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW