DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310645
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN AND LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  112 lines

HOPEFULS FOCUS ON ISSUES IN CAMPAIGN WITHOUT DIRT

Republican S. Chris Jones, a politician for years, can really work a crowd. Democrat Michelle Degnan, making her first run for office, often brings her own.

That's just one difference between the candidates for the 76th House District seat.

Jones, 39, dives into campaign crowds, handshake pumping, smile showing, with the local celebrity of being a former Suffolk mayor and six-term councilman. The pharmacist seems to know everybody in the city, and they know him.

``I'm just being me,'' Jones said. ``And that includes an already busy schedule.''

Degnan, 44, is making her initial run for elected office. On sunny afternoons, the French teacher from Chesapeake surrounds herself with a legion of youthful supporters and canvasses communities, door to door.

She acknowledges that her lack of name recognition is her biggest hurdle.

``I can't do anything but knock on doors,'' she said.

The candidates are competing for a seat left open by Republican Del. Robert E. Nelms - a three-term incumbent who decided not to run after being arrested last year for exposing himself to an undercover vice officer in a Richmond park.

Nelms initially called the arrest a set-up; later he said he was urinating. He briefly sought legislative immunity and finally pleaded guilty to indecent exposure.

Jones and Degnan have waged a clean race, focusing on the issues.

``I hope this campaign is a model for others,'' Jones said. ``We talked about the issues. We may disagree on those, but there wasn't one mention of each other.''

Degnan said her grass-roots campaign is meant to introduce herself to voters, and not to impeach her opponent.

``There's nothing on either of us,'' said Degnan. ``What's there to gain?''

The meandering district includes the southern portion of Chesapeake, the southern portion of Isle of Wight County and much of Suffolk, except the far northeastern corner and an eastern-central wedge.

Party powerbrokers in Richmond are watching the race closely. The Republicans need to pick up four seats to gain control of the House of Delegates, and GOP members want to make sure they keep the 76th seat, which before Nelms, was held by Democrat Samuel Glasscock.

The Republican Party has put financial muscle into the race.

As of Oct. 1, Jones had raised $108,235. About $7,000 of that came from the state GOP chapter.

Of the $10,521 Degnan had raised by Oct. 1, $1,000 came from the Chesapeake Democratic Women and $3,000 from the Virginia Education Association.

Both candidates have spent their money on fliers. Neither has used radio or television ads.

Jones' literature - which includes one flier that shows a toothy, pre-adolescent future candidate with the caption ``Can you guess who this is?'' - is focused on character, crime, education and economic development issues.

Jones advocates tougher penalities on criminals and eliminating rehabilitation programs.

At forums, he launches into stories about his own two brushes with armed robbers.

``A lot of people talk about things they haven't experienced,'' Jones said in an interview. ``But I know the fear and the unsettling feeling of someone violating your person.

``I want violent criminals to be in the proper place and duly punished for the crime committed on others.''

Jones also champions easing tax burdens on businesses. Attracting economic development and encouraging the use of high technology will give Virginia the capital it needs, he says.

Jones also believes that the state should increase funding to localities for education. And he wants to reduce class sizes from kindergarten through fifth grade.

If he wins the Nov. 4 election, he will have to be replaced on the Suffolk City Council within 60 days of his resignation.

Degnan's campaign stresses her education know-how. A lifelong Democrat, she has served as president of the Chesapeake Bay Education Association, and was named Chesapeake Teacher of the Year in 1994 for her work at Western Branch High School.

She favors a professional standards board to ensure the quality of teachers in the public schools. She also believes in raising standards for high school students, and supports additional financial aid for graduates who have demonstrated the ability and determination to attend college.

And has been relying on youths to fuel her campaign.

Since March, about 50 teen-agers have handed out 8,000 fliers on her behalf to thousands of homes throughout the district.

Tuesday evening, one week before the general election, Degnan and nine students walked through a Western Branch community across from Chesapeake Square Mall.

It was a minivan neighborhood - middle-class and friendly, perhaps, to a candidate who also happened to teach the children of many voters.

After a brief exchange with a woman about a troubled former student, Degnan left with redoubled energy.

``Teachers know everyone,'' she said, ``even if they don't know it.''

Degnan views this election's most popular platform item - both gubernatorial candidates' promise to eliminate the personal property tax - as a farce. Getting rid of the tax will burden municipalities and drive up local taxes, she says.

Degnan believes the state budget surplus should be returned to the localities, which can use the funds to fix roads, build schools or improve their police departments. Jones supports a property-tax cut - but only after education programs are boosted. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

The 88th House District

Whom will you hire ?

Photos

Jones

Degnan

For complete copy of graphic, see microfilm KEYWORDS: ELECTION CANDIDATE 76TH DISTRICT HOUSE OF

DELEGATES RACE

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