DATE: Wednesday, October 15, 1997           TAG: 9710150518

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

DEMOCRACY IS MORE THAN GOING TO POLLS, SAYS A VOTING FAMILY

Monday night, three generations of Montgomerys and Cooks previewed a TV videotape about the upcoming Virginia elections.

One family member, Billie Montgomery-Cook of Portsmouth, was a Your Voice/Your Vote citizen-panelist, questioning Donald S. Beyer Jr., Democratic candidate for governor.

Her family enjoyed the show - a roundtable with the candidates. But they weren't buying from Beyer or Republican James S. Gilmore III.

``They both struck me as very seasoned politicians who were very well-coached in a way that makes people feel they are really answering. So I was not impressed,'' said Billie's husband, Keith Cook.

But they plan to vote. So do Billie's parents, William and Alberta Montgomery of Chesapeake. So would Billie and Keith's daughter, Jeanina, if only she wasn't 14.

The Montgomerys and Cooks always vote, no matter how unappealing the choices. They believe politics are about democracy and freedom, not winning elections.

They also know how hard it was for generations of African Americans in the South to exercise the right to vote.

``No matter how sickening the candidates are,'' said Keith Cook, 50, holding his stomach, ``there were people who wanted to vote and never got the opportunity. So, if anything, I'm voting for them.''

The Montgomerys and Cooks teach this to their young ones. They take them to polling places, and encourage them to watch programs about the civil rights era.

William Montgomery, 73, a retired Coast Guard master chief petty officer, recalls that, in his small Alabama town, there was only one black person who voted - a businessman.

Other African Americans stayed away from the polls, primarily for their safety.

Even after gaining voting rights, William and Alberta continued to learn that it wasn't the same as freedom.

The Montgomerys bought their first car in the mid-1950s. Traveling the South, they took care where they stopped to eat or sleep so their children did not experience ``being turned away,'' William said.

Democracy, they found, was not about freedom to vote or to drive, but to be part of mainstream America.

Such memories are why the Montgomerys and Cooks get upset about today's politics.

And why they have strong faith in American political ideals.

``People are feeling discouraged and frustrated to see all the spin doctors, sound bites, consultants, polls - to see all this pre-packaged stuff. less they vote, and then democracy is in danger of not being what it needs to be and what it can be.''

As William Montgomery explained, his children and grandchildren have not only an opportunity to be a part of politics, but an obligation.

``To themselves, their families and the rest of the people. They have an obligation to democracy, too. To make sure democracy lives, and to make it prove itself.''

If only politicians don't drive them away. MEMO: The citizens panel will be rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Friday and 1

p.m. Sunday on LNC, and at 2 p.m. Sunday on WVEC.

If you have story ideas for this column, call Mike Knepler at

446-2275. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Keith Cook says he was not impressed with either candidate for

governor, Donald S. Beyer Jr. or James S. Gilmore III.

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