DATE: Friday, June 20, 1997                 TAG: 9706200727

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   91 lines

MOVE TO CHESAPEAKE HAS STIRRED TROUBLE FOR NORFOLK COUNCILMAN PHILLIPS SAYS FORD FORCED HIM TO RELOCATE, BUT HE'LL STILL SELL CARS ON MILITARY HIGHWAY.

City Councilman G. Conoly Phillips knew that relocating his Lincoln-Mercury auto dealership from Norfolk to Chesapeake would create political problems.

He was right. Since opening the new franchise in Chesapeake's Greenbrier community this month, Phillips has been accused of abandoning Norfolk while the city is trying to revitalize its economy and stem a steady decline in its population.

Phillips, whose award-winning dealership on North Military Highway in Norfolk had become a fixture after 33 years, now finds himself defending the 10-mile move to South Military Highway.

He said the criticism is off base.

The decision to relocate, he said, was driven by the market and Ford Motor Co. officials.

``There was a market study done by Ford showing that from a customer standpoint we should be in Chesapeake,'' Phillips said. ``I knew that if I refused to move, they would put another dealer in Chesapeake. I had to protect my territory.''

Phillips said he had resisted the move, which a Ford official confirmed Thursday.

Greg Allison, real estate manager for Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division in Detroit, said that Ford officials ``have been strongly encouraging the Phillipses to move into the Chesapeake area since the 1980s. He's been holding off for 11 years, actually.''

Allison said Ford identified Chesapeake as the place to be. ``It's the high-growth, high-traffic area,'' he said.

Some Norfolk residents say the city councilman's action sends a negative signal.

``As a Norfolk homeowner and taxpayer, I would like to thank him for abandoning the city he is supposed to represent by moving his new car dealership out of the city and building a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art facility in Chesapeake,'' Robert K. Abbott, a Norfolk policeman, wrote in a letter to the editor to The Virginian-Pilot. ``Maybe he should consider running for office in Chesapeake.''

Phillips served one Norfolk council term in the 1970s and has sat continuously on the panel since 1986. He ran unopposed for the Ward 1 seat in 1994 and faces re-election in May.

Phillips said he'll continue to run a business at the Norfolk location. He said he's investing $300,000 to improve the old building, including new lighting, facade and paving, to turn the place into a ``super'' used-car and body shop operation. He's calling it ``Planet Cars.''

``We haven't deserted Norfolk,'' Phillips said. ``I've still got a strong presence in Norfolk.''

Phillips said the criticism underscores why many business owners are reluctant to seek public office.

``It's sad,'' Phillips said, ``but that's the price a businessman pays. That's the type of thing where you get shot at.''

Some civic leaders in Phillips' Ward 1 said the move made no difference to them.

Robert Galloway, president of the Glenwood Park Civic League, said Phillips' explanation rang true based on Galloway's nearly 35-year career working in rental, leasing and sales with Ford dealerships.

``Ford is going to have its way one way or the other,'' Galloway said. ``I think Conoly can overcome this by just explaining it. I think he's gotten a little unfair publicity over it.''

But Lynn Archer, a civic leader in Wards Corner, said she was disappointed by Phillips' move.

``I don't think it's going to meet with a lot of favor with people,'' Archer said. ``We're working so hard to make Norfolk a really progressive city, and we'd like to think our councilmen would keep their businesses in Norfolk. You don't want a person to lose something they've put a lot of years into, but on the other hand, I don't have much patience with politicians or big business.''

Phillips, who runs the dealership with his wife, Betsy, said he purchased the Chesapeake property in 1985 to protect his territory, which includes Norfolk and Chesapeake.

The relocation decision actually was made in 1994, Phillips said, when Chesapeake was the region's fastest-growing city and Norfolk's population was declining.

Phillips' new 36,687-square-foot facility employs 81 people and is Lincoln-Mercury's national prototype for a full-size dealership for the 21st century, Ford's Allison said from Detroit.

``We certainly were not intending to abandon Norfolk,'' Allison added. ``We think we can service Norfolk customers from our Chesapeake location.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot

G. Conoly Phillips, a Norfolk city councilman, has taken some

political heat for moving his business to neighboring Chesapeake. A

market study done by Ford showed he should relocate. If he refused,

he said, Ford would put another dealer there. ``I had to protect my

territory,'' he explained.

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