DATE: Saturday, March 29, 1997              TAG: 9703290298

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN AND ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   80 lines

DEL. NELMS WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION HE REVERSES HIS STAND, TIRED OF CONTROVERSY.

Del. Robert E. Nelms, the Suffolk politician who admitted exposing himself to an undercover police officer in Richmond last year, announced Friday that he will not seek re-election in November.

A member of the House of Delegates since 1991, Nelms admitted that his arrest in the public park eroded some support among party loyalists and influenced his decision.

``When you get the hell beat out of you over and over again, you get tired of it,'' Nelms said in his Suffolk office. ``I'm tired of it.''

The 37-year-old Suffolk native said he was proud of his work in Richmond, including sponsoring legislation on workers' compensation reform and support of the planned expansion of the southwest leg of U.S. Route 58. ``I've accomplished the things I wanted to do.''

The announcement marked a reversal for Nelms, who earlier this year called for a Republican primary and said he intended to fight for his seat. Democrats had pulled for him ever since, considering him as vulnerable a candidate as Republicans could nominate.

Nelms said Friday he had prepared for a contentious primary - and showed off a stack of voter petitions, which he said held 500 signatures. But he pulled back three weeks before the April 11 filing deadline. Filing for the race opened Tuesday. ``I've been thinking about this for a couple of months,'' he said. ``This week I made up my mind.''

Nelms was charged Feb. 15, 1996, with exposing himself to an undercover vice officer in Richmond's Byrd Park, known in the capital city as a cruising spot for homosexual men. He said he merely stepped off a path to relieve himself, but the officer charged him with indecent exposure.

Claiming legislative immunity because the General Assembly was in session at the time, Nelms had the charge thrown out, but prosecutors had it reinstated after the General Assembly adjourned.

Nelms pleaded guilty last June, was fined $50, given a 30-day suspended jail term and ordered to stay out of Richmond city parks.

``The only thing I wouldn't do again is take a leak in a Richmond park,'' he said Friday.

Nelms added that he was anxious ``to get on with my professional career.'' He has a small environmental consulting company and will help run a family-owned land management company, Nelms Corp.

He did not rule out a return to politics. ``It's in my blood,'' he said.

Kenneth Carpenter, GOP chairman in the 76th District, said that local Republican supporters were concerned about Nelms losing the seat they had recently won after two decades of Democratic control.

Nelms' flagging support ``was pretty evident all over'' the Republican ranks, he said.

Notice of Nelms' decision not to seek a fourth term came from the General Assembly's Joint Republican Caucus, by way of a letter filled with praise from his Republican colleagues.

``Robert brought a keen mind to his job,'' wrote Chesapeake Del. J. Randy Forbes, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.

Said Warrenton Del. Jay Katzen, Nelms' seatmate: ``In a body that sometimes is less than civil, Robert Nelms was always one whose manners and demeanor were sterling.''

In Suffolk's conservative 76th District, Nelms was long considered invincible. In 1991 he toppled Democrat J. Samuel Glasscock, then one of the legislature's more respected members who came to be considered too moderate for the Republican district.

In Richmond, Nelms was known as a low-key lawmaker who spent much of his time on constituent service. Among his biggest legislative achievements was a law giving developers more options in complying with federal wetlands regulations. The measure won praise from home builders and environmentalists alike.

At least three candidates already have expressed interest in Nelms' seat, including two Republicans. Suffolk residents William D. Ward, owner of a home health-care supply company, and Jesse T. Johnson Jr., a lawyer, have said they plan to seek the Republican nomination.

Michelle Degnan, a Chesapeake schoolteacher, has announced plans to run as a Democrat. The 76th District covers most of Suffolk and includes portions of Chesapeake and Isle of Wight County. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MICHAEL KESTNER/The Virginian-Pilot

Robert E. Nelms says he is tired of the verbal barrage he has taken

since his arrest on a charge of indecent exposure last year in a

public park in Richmond.

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