DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060457

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A16  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  109 lines

FILLING EARLEY'S SENATE SEAT COULD GET COMPLICATED IN CHESAPEAKE

Sen. Mark L. Earley's victory in the attorney general's race was only hours old Wednesday when candidates from both parties launched efforts to replace him in the state Senate.

Local and state Republican Party officials confirmed that Del. J. Randy Forbes, who is also the state's Republican Party chairman, intends to run in a December special election for Earley's 14th District Senate seat.

Forbes said he will make an official announcement next week.

Meanwhile, James J. Wheaton, a Democrat who has served on the Chesapeake School Board since 1991, confirmed Wednesday that he will run for the seat, which includes parts of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.

Although Tuesday's election results settled the contest for statewide leadership for another two years, Forbes' decision on his own political future could impact the balance of power in Richmond for years to come.

It could also throw the political landscape in Chesapeake into turmoil all the way through the City Council elections in May.

Though Republicans took the three top offices Tuesday, Democrats appear to have retained control of the House of Delegates. But the Senate is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, making Earley's seat critical.

``It's important in the Tidewater area to continue to do what Mark has done,'' Forbes said. ``That's going to be a crucial seat for the people of Hampton Roads and Virginia.''

Forbes had said that he was likely to seek Earley's Senate seat if the opportunity arose. Had Republicans won the majority in the House, Forbes, the 45-year-old House minority leader, was believed to have been virtually guaranteed election as speaker of the House based on his statewide political clout and aspirations for higher office.

``I can't tell you that four years from now we won't be looking at statewide office,'' Forbes said days before the election.

On Wednesday, Forbes was coy, saying he probably would run for the seat. But Republican strategists said Forbes will run. It's just a matter of working the logistics, they said.

``I think a Republican should win Mark Earley's seat. . . . and Randy Forbes seems to me to be the favorite candidate,'' said Frank J. Driscoll, who led the Chesapeake Republican Party from 1987 to 1991.

With the anti-car-tax message still resounding among voters, several local and state officials said they will pour money and other resources into the effort for this crucial seat.

``I would play as active a role as I possibly can to make sure we maintain that seat,'' Gov.-elect James S. Gilmore III said Wednesday.

Forbes took his party's reins in June 1996 after serving in the House since 1990. He is credited with galvanizing a once-disorganized state party, reducing GOP debt and helping to win Tuesday's historic election with high-powered alliances.

His likely opponent also has strong roots, but they are in the Chesapeake school system.

Wheaton said seeing firsthand the effects of state policy on the local level motivated him to run for Earley's seat.

Enthusiastic supporters had even posted ``Wheaton, Virginia Senate'' signs in Great Bridge by rush hour Wednesday morning.

``I just think I have the depth to say, `Hey, this is what happens at the local level when you do this at the state level.' I think sometimes that perspective gets lost,'' Wheaton said. ``It's a real difficult decision because I've got a very young family.''

Wheaton and his wife, Laurie, are expecting their fourth child.

``He has demonstrated his commitment to education and to public service. . Sisisky, a Democrat representing Virginia's 4th District.

Should Wheaton win, the School Board would appoint an interim board member who would serve until the general election is held in May. The appointee would fill out the duration of his term, which ends June 30, 2000.

While two-thirds of the district is in Chesapeake, Wheaton also needs to make his name known to voters in Virginia Beach. ``I've spent a fair amount of time in the last month or so in Virginia Beach talking to citizens about their concerns.''

If elected, Wheaton said, he would work to find a way to repeal the car tax without burdening localities.

``The question in Richmond next year is not whether it's going to go, but how do we go about doing it,'' Wheaton said. ``I hate the tax. It's unfair and regressive. . . . I don't think anyone thinks it's a good way to raise money,'' he said.

Earley's departure from the Senate creates an election scenario unique to Virginia this year.

A special election is likely for December to fill Earley's state Senate seat. State election board officials expect that Earley might resign before the elections are officially certified Nov. 24.

With the General Assembly out of session, Gov. George F. Allen has the power to call a writ of election for the Senate's 14th District after Earley's resignation.

A special election - the only one expected this year in Virginia - could be held as early as Dec. 16, said M. Bruce Meadows, executive secretary of the State Board of Elections. But Forbes said Wednesday that he has received conflicting reports about how soon an election could be held.

If Forbes decides to run for that seat and wins, another special election will be necessary in January to fill his seat in the House, where there is a thin Democratic majority.

So far, several Republicans have said retired Great Bridge High School principal Harry Blevens has the edge for the party's support.

And if a member of the City Council takes Forbes' seat? A new council member will be appointed by council, thus opening up a majority of the council seats come May. MEMO: Staff writers Mac Daniel, Nancy Young and Ledyard King contributed

to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

J. Randy Forbes, left, and James J. Wheaton will compete in a

special election for the 14th District seat. KEYWORDS: SPECIAL ELECTION VIRGINIA STATE SENATE RACE

CANDIDATES 14TH SENATE DISTRICT

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