DATE: Sunday, May 25, 1997                  TAG: 9705230024

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion

SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   98 lines

STATEHOUSE BLUES HIGH OFFICE ELUDES HAMPTON ROADS POLS

Southside Virginia is a sparsely populated heartland of small manufacturing towns and rolling tobacco farms.

Hampton Roads is a thriving megalopolis of 1.5 million people sandwiched into thousands of acres of town homes and apartments and planned communities.

But when it comes to bidding for statewide office, the pastoral Southside has a better record than the bustling southeastern Virginia corridor. Democrat Mary Sue Terry, who served two terms as attorney general before losing a bid for governor in 1993, hailed from the Southside. So did Gerald Baliles, attorney general from 1982-86 and governor from 1986-90. And so does former congressman L. F. Payne, the Democratic nominee for governor this year.

Meanwhile, in the last 20 years, Hampton Roads has produced one statewide official, Portsmouth's Richard Davis, who served a single term as lieutenant governor from 1982-86, and three defeated party nominees. Locals who captured nominations, but lost, were Henry Howell, who led the Democratic ticket in 1977; Joe Canada, Republican nominee for lieutenant governor that year; and Buster O'Brien, the GOP candidate for attorney general in 1985.

Two area lawyer-legislators - Sen. Ken Stolle of Virginia Beach and Sen. Mark Earley of Chesapeake - are among four candidates for the Republican nomination for attorney general this year.

The dearth of southeastern Virginians on statewide tickets is a phenomenon with potentially dire results. Strong representation in legislative leadership has helped keep Hampton Roads in the pink when money and favors were being parceled out. But if power shifts elsewhere when the current generation of lawmakers passes on, southeastern Virginia could find itself a 500-pound gorilla with its mouth taped shut.

In fact, the statewide-office gap looks even more pronounced when Hampton Roads is compared with Virginia's two other large population centers, Richmond and Northern Virginia.

The Northern Virginia list of statewide nominees includes Chuck Robb, governor from 1982-86 and lieutenant governor for the four previous years; Don Beyer, two-term lieutenant governor and the current Democratic nominee for governor; and Bill Dolan, the Democrat's candidate for attorney general in 1993 and this year.

Successful Richmonders include Doug Wilder, elected lieutenant governor in 1985 and governor four years later; Attorney General Jim Gilmore, this year's GOP candidate for governor; and Baliles, who lived in Richmond throughout his political career. In addition, the city and its suburbs supplied the Republican nominee for governor in 1985, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 1977, the GOP nominee for attorney general in 1981 and that party's nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general in 1989. Richmonder John Hagar is the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor this year.

Theories abound on the reasons for the lack of interest or success in Hampton Roads in pursuing state office. Possible explanations range from history to geography to the lack of regional cohesion and purpose. Political activists are less certain of how to change the trend.

``People down here are more interested in personal pursuits than public office,'' theorized Davis, the former lieutenant governor. ``As a general rule, people are just more interested in what's happening in our own region.''

The theory is borne out by the fact that Tidewater also lags far behind Richmond and Northern Virginia in financial contributions to statewide campaigns.

At least part of the problem might be attributed to the region's historic isolation from Richmond. Hampton Roads was never an integral part of the Byrd political organization, which ran Virginia from the 1920s to the 1960s. There was more independent thought - although no more so than in Northern Virginia, which was also outside the Byrd mainstream.

Attitudes may have changed more radically in Northern Virginia, where proximity to Washington makes politics a constant theme, suggested Eva Teig, a Virginia Power executive and former Portsmouth resident. Teig considered running for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor this year, but ruled it out for personal reasons.

Meanwhile, in Richmond, ``the world is politics. There's constant discussion, rumors . . . ,'' she said. By contrast, in Hampton Roads ``a lot of folks who're very capable of holding statewide office have made decisions not to.''

O'Brien, the Virginia Beach attorney who captured the GOP nomination for attorney general in 1985, speculates that lack of regional identification may make locals less interested in statewide affairs. It may also mute the advantage of living in an area with a large population base.

During his time as a state delegate, O'Brien was struck by the willingness of Northern Virginians to put aside partisan differences on matters of common interest, such as roads and schools. ``But nobody ever says somebody's going to take Tidewater because they're from here,'' he said. ``There's no tie that binds.''

So long as southeastern Virginians such as House Speaker Tom Moss and Senate Finance Co-chairman Stanley Walker wield power in Richmond, the absence of statewide officials may be a benign phenomenon. But without them, the natural advantage of having a neighbor to call on would evaporate.

Instead of focusing so much effort on electing mayors and councilmen and school board members, locals need to remember that, yes, there is a Richmond. And it is good for more than inspiring head-shaking over the murder rate or the demise of Thalhimers and Miller & Rhoads.

It is the source of money and policies affecting the lives of 1.5 million of us. And it would be more than ``nice'' to occasionally have one of our own at the helm. MEMO: Ms. Edds is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot.

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