DATE: Tuesday, October 7, 1997              TAG: 9710070449
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   51 lines

KILL DEVIL HILLS CANDIDATES RUNNING AS A TEAM OF THREE

Voters in Dare County's largest municipality will see a twist in local politics leading up to the Nov. 4 election.

Mayoral candidate E.M. ``Coy'' Harbeson and board of commissioners candidates Bill Pitt and J. Howard Kimble are running as a unified slate, based on what they call ``a responsible conservative approach'' to government.

All three, however, say they will maintain their independence if elected.

``We're not a monolith,'' said Pitt, 59, a Navy veteran who works as a consultant to the defense industry. ``Coy is sensitive to the senior citizen community. I'm an analytical type that talks about numbers a lot of the time. Howard is a personnel guy. We don't always agree on everything.''

Their opponents - mayoral candidate Sherry Rollason, Commissioner Jeff Shields and commission candidate Jim Basnight - say they aren't ruffled by the team approach, which is as close as it gets to party politics in a nonpartisan race.

``I'm not easily intimidated,'' said Rollason, a 45-year-old real estate executive. ``I'm more of a middle of the road. I'm not on this end, and I'm not on this end. I'm right in the middle.''

Running as a slate is not new in Dare County. Two years ago, Manteo Mayor Lee Tugwell and commissioners Bill Buell, Stuart Wescott and Melvin Jackson swept to victory in a unified campaign.

Kimble takes a strength-in-numbers approach when talking about the slate.

``On the board, it takes three votes to get something done,'' Kimble said. ``For the past four years, Mr. Harbeson has beat his head against the wall to try to get the town to hold the line on spending. We feel that if just Mr. Harbeson was elected, he would be in the same position he has been for the past four years. But we're not clones.''

Basnight, a self-described ``11th-hour candidate,'' frowns on the idea of a unified front.

``The reason I ran is because I don't think the town should be run by a team,'' Basnight said. ``I think the town is better off having individuals lead the town, rather than a team.''

The Kill Devil Hills election covers a range of issues, from taxes to streets to the environment.

Harbeson and Rollason will vie for the open seat currently held by Duncan Wright, who is not seeking re-election.

Two at-large seats are up for grabs on the commission. Shields was appointed to serve the remainder of Wright's unexpired commission term after Wright was elected mayor. Basnight, an appliance-and-lighting store owner, Kimble and Pitt round out the field. MEMO: Summary of the candidates and their views on Page B3. KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE DARE COUNTY MAYORAL RACE

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