DATE: Saturday, November 1, 1997            TAG: 9711010694

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  106 lines

SHERIFF WORKING FOR RE-ELECTION IS FACING A LITTLE-KNOWN OPPONENT

Raleigh H. Isaacs Sr. isn't taking for granted the sheriff's post he won four years ago - when an opponent, the longtime incumbent, did little campaigning.

Isaacs, then a policeman for more than 30 years, soundly defeated him and three other candidates. Having narrowly lost to the same man in a three-way race four years earlier, Isaacs knows the taste of defeat.

Now Isaacs is paying close attention to his challenger, Jeffrey V. Townsend, a political novice who has little name recognition and who has spent no money to oust Isaacs from his nearly $56,000-a-year job.

``I have to demonstrate to the citizens . . . who elected me to office that I want to stay in office,'' Isaacs said.

Isaacs has plastered his posters and huge signs across the city. He's passed out fliers and color brochures outlining his achievements and listing endorsements from numerous supporters. He's placed advertisements in newspapers, held a fund-raising rally and appeared at various public forums and civic league meetings.

Townsend, 30, is relying on personal persuasion, speaking to groups and knocking on doors to seek votes. He admits he has little chance of upsetting Isaacs, a well-known Democrat with a comfortable campaign chest and plenty of supporters. But he's running ``for the future,'' he says, hoping to get his name and his goals before the public.

Townsend says his Army training and his experience as a Norfolk city jail guard this past year qualify him to deal with courtroom security and to run the sheriff's department. A Suffolk native, he returned home after active duty in the Army.

Isaacs, 57, simply relies on his record.

He outlines his accomplishments and the department's needs. He's asked city officials for six more full-time deputies and three part-time workers to provide security for the Mills E. Godwin Jr. Court Building, expected to open in the spring.

The ``sophisticated building'' will have two metal detectors and an X-ray machine at the public entrance in the front and additional security features throughout the building and parking lot, he said.

``What's at issue is your safety,'' Isaacs said at a recent candidates' forum sponsored by the local branch of the NAACP.

Since he's been in office, Isaacs has started using retired law enforcement officials to work part time to supplement his staff of 13 deputies who handle security for five courtrooms and serve about 60,000 civil papers a year.

``It's a win-win for everybody and helps provide a well-rounded, professional office,'' he said.

The department also oversees the ``lock-up,'' a temporary holding facility behind the General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts. And the deputies provide transportation for juveniles and mental patients for court-ordered detainments.

The additional staff will be particularly needed, Isaacs said, when the new court building on Main Street opens with seven courtrooms to cover - two more than the city now has.

At public appearances, Isaacs speaks much like an executive at a board meeting. He tells about his police career, including 10 years as investigator for the commonwealth's attorney. And he methodically outlines the duties and needs of the sheriff's office.

Townsend sounds like an evangelist, preaching crime prevention.

Deputies should spend time every month in the schools, talking to students about crime and assisting in the Police Department's DARE program, he holds.

``Once they get in the system, it's too late,'' Townsend said at the NAACP forum. ``We're losing our kids - black and white.''

The city needs a recreational facility, he said, promising to give $20,000 the first year's he's sheriff to help build one.

Crime prevention is a topic near and dear to his heart, too, Isaacs says. He's spoken repeatedly about it - on his own time, he said, since his job of sheriff requires him to focus on court security and civil process, which takes all of his deputies' time. Prevention is a function of the police, he said.

Still, Isaacs volunteers on boards of numerous agencies, including several that work with children, such as King's Kids and SPOR-AC, a summer program that teaches values and teamwork.

Isaacs has also initiated a program allowing teen-agers in minor trouble with the law for the first time to work off their debts by washing city cars instead of putting the financial burden on their parents.

His opponent would eliminate that program and concentrate on assisting with DARE, he said.

``Instead of kids washing cars, we must stop things before'' they get into trouble, he said.

With the extra positions, the sheriff's department's budget would be nearly $1 million for next year.

Judgments have been filed against Townsend for past-due bills and loans, including at least one that has been satisfied. But Townsend said he had never heard about a warrant in debt for a $10,000 loan from Newport News Shipbuilding Employees' Credit Union Inc. that was filed in February.

He's also embroiled in an acrimonious divorce.

Townsend admits that he's not legally married to the woman he publicly calls his ``wife'' and whose children he calls his ``stepchildren.'' He said he transferred all his property into her name, including a house.

Isaacs has been working late recently, preparing for the additional requirements of the new court building. If he gets to hire additional employees, he'll need to advertise the openings, then hire and train the new deputies.

His opponent admits there's nothing personal about the contest. ``Win or lose, I'll support the sheriff 100 percent.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos

Isaacs

Townsend KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE ELECTION SUFFOLK SHERIFF'S RACE

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