DATE: Friday, March 7, 1997                 TAG: 9703070654

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   67 lines

DEMOCRATIC MEETING CALLED TO FILL SEAT ``WAS LIKE A CIRCUS''

Confusion and anger are reigning as the jockeying begins to fill the House of Delegates seat vacated by William S. ``Billy'' Moore.

On Tuesday night, a Portsmouth Democratic Committee meeting aimed at dealing with the 79th District House seat ended in uproar.

``It was like a circus,'' Portsmouth Vice Mayor Johnny Clemons said. ``I truly could not believe it was happening.''

Moore resigned his General Assembly seat Wednesday after being appointed a judge of Portsmouth's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Tuesday's meeting whirled around two potential candidates for the seat: former State Sen. Johnny Joannou, who announced Thursday that he is in the race, and Robert C. Barclay IV, the local committee chairman who said only ``I'm interested'' in response to queries about his intentions.

No decision has been made on whether the party candidate will be selected in a primary election or at a caucus. That decision must be delivered to the State Board of Elections by March 12.

Nor has Gov. George F. Allen decided on a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of this year. But, regardless of what Allen decides, the Democrats still must choose a candidate for the November election.

The meeting Tuesday night adjourned abruptly before any discussion of the method of selecting the Democratic candidate for the House seat. That leaves the decision totally up to a three-person nominating committee made up of one representative each from Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake. All three cities have precincts in the 79th District, although Portsmouth has the most.

Barclay, a 36-year-old lawyer, appointed himself to the nominating committee in January. After Tuesday's brouhaha, he said, ``I've removed myself.''

Bert Rohrer of the state Democratic Party office said Barclay has named Dorothy W. Dray, a schoolteacher, to replace him on the nominating committee.

Tuesday night's tiff started when Joannou supporters called for a vote to accept 57 new at-large members to the city committee, and Barclay ruled the motion out of order.

Barclay said members of the city committee must be nominated by someone who lives in the same precinct. Kevin O'Brien, a Portsmouth Democratic Committee member, said that the rule cited by Barclay applied only to members representing a precinct, not to at-large members.

Joannou, 56, a member of the Democratic Committee since 1970, said he believed the at-large nominations should have been accepted because they were in accordance with party rules.

``They were nominated last month, and the chair accepted them,'' Joannou said. ``Then when we were ready to vote, he ruled them out of order.''

He said Portsmouth has had a primary, rather than a caucus vote, for every election he can remember since 1954.

``I believe everybody has a right to run and that everybody has a right to vote,'' he said.

Clemons was irritated by the ruling against his becoming a member of the city committee.

``I was nominated and paid my $25 dues last month,'' he said. ``Nobody said anything about being nominated by someone in the same precinct. Now this month, they changed their minds.''

He added that the committee would not return his money.

``It's a mess,'' O'Brien said. ``I've never seen anything run in such a manner with such total disregard for people on the floor. I hope we can resolve the bylaws issue to make sure this doesn't happen again.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos

William S. ``Billy'' Moore, left, resigned his Assembly seat

Wednesday after being appointed a judge. Former state Sen. Johnny

Joannou announced Thursday that he is in the race for Moore's seat.

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