DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997                TAG: 9703040311

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DAVID M. POOLE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   40 lines

DEMOCRATIC TEACHER SEEKS NELMS' SEAT IN VA. HOUSE

A Chesapeake schoolteacher confirmed Monday that she will seek the Democratic nomination for the 76th District seat now held by Republican Del. Robert E. Nelms of Suffolk.

Michelle Degnan, 44, said she is motivated in part to help reverse the education priorities of Republican Gov. George F. Allen.

She cited Allen's refusal to accept $8 million in federal ``Goals 2000'' money and his focus on academic basics that could squeeze out electives such as foreign language and art.

``I think Virginia has lost sight of what should be our top priority during this administration,'' she said. ``I don't see the current delegate doing anything to buck the tide.''

Nelms declined to comment on Degnan's announcement.

The Suffolk Republican had been considered almost invincible in the conservative 76th District until last winter, when he was arrested for indecent exposure in a Richmond park known as a cruising spot for homosexual men. He later pleaded guilty and was banned from parks in the city.

Some Republicans say they expect Nelms to face a challenge within his own party for the GOP nomination.

Several Democrats also have expressed interest in running this fall, including Suffolk attorney Joshua Pretlow Jr.

``I haven't made up my mind,'' Pretlow said Monday.

So far, Degnan is the only Democrat to commit.

``I realize that I'm climbing Mount Everest with a clothesline and clothes pins, but I've been teaching a long time and nothing scares me,'' she said.

Degnan has taught French at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake for 17 years and has been active with the Virginia Education Association, a labor group for teachers.

In 1994, Degnan was selected as Chesapeake's Teacher of the Year. She is single and lives with her parents in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake.

The 76th District includes most of Suffolk, parts of western Chesapeake and a few precincts in Isle of Wight County.

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