Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510230023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In a letter to the editor, Phipps, a Republican, endorsed independent candidate O.P. Ramsey rather than Doug Marrs. Though running as an independent, Ramsey is well-known as a Republican.
Phipps' move seems likely to exacerbate a possible split in Republican voting strength and give an advantage to Democratic candidate Jerry Olinger. The other candidate in the four-way race, Garnett Adkins, is an independent, whom Democrats believe will not affect Olinger's vote.
"Obviously Jerry Olinger's going to hit a different segment of the electorate" than Marrs or Ramsey, said Lindsay West, Montgomery Democratic Committee chairwoman. "Anything that splits other sections of the electorate even more works to his advantage."
Phipps disagrees with such conclusions, given that county Democrats took four ballots to choose Olinger from among five contenders. "I think O.P. Ramsey will also be able to cut into the Democrat vote as well as the Republican," he said.
Marrs, who has been running an aggressive, door-to-door campaign since February, had a low-key response. "That's his decision if he wants to endorse his friend," Marrs said. "That's the beauty of living in a free country."
Dave Nutter, Montgomery Republican chairman, said the Phipps endorsement won't hurt Marrs at all. "I think Doug is running an incredibly strong campaign. ... Rain or shine he's out there and I think that's going to carry it," Nutter said. He said Ramsey enjoys support from the sheriff and a few of his employees. Otherwise, "The party is 99.9 percent solidly behind Doug."
Olinger had no comment on the development, other than he had expected it. "I'm just out running my campaign, trying to get all the votes I can."
The endorsement of Ramsey, a captain under Phipps, reflects the sheriff's dissatisfaction with the Republican Party's spring mass meeting, where his favored candidate, Chief Deputy Dan Haga, narrowly lost a three-way contest to Marrs, a lieutenant with the Christiansburg Police Department.
Haga had called himself the "heir apparent" to Phipps going into a packed mass meeting at Christiansburg Middle School. But Marrs won with 50.8 percent of the 415 votes; his margin over Haga was 35 votes. He would have won even if the third candidate, Roy Bolen, hadn't been in the race.
"I know some people might feel it's sour grapes, but if this thing had been played on an equal, level playing field, I would have had no qualms supporting him," Phipps said Friday.
To Phipps, Marrs is not the legitimate GOP candidate because of lax voting procedures at the mass meeting, and because Marrs recruited non-Republicans to come out and vote for him, rather than soliciting only party regulars.
Phipps said people were allowed to wander in and out of the mass meeting (the vote total dropped by 90 between the commissioner of revenue and sheriff's votes), and ballots were handed out into the crowded bleachers in clusters rather than strictly one to a person. He said he recognized people in the crowd he knew were Democrats and saw others he'd never seen at party functions before.
Phipps said he realizes that the county party considers Marrs the legitimate candidate because of the final tally. But "I think those numbers were not indicative of the true Republican numbers," he said.
Phipps said he didn't think Marrs' recruitment of nonparty members for the mass meeting was done with malicious intent. "He wasn't aware that meeting should have been for Republicans only," Phipps said.
Marrs didn't react to Phipps' specific assertions. "The day of the mass meeting, the people spoke," he said.
Nutter, the party chairman, said all candidates had an equal chance to turn out supporters to the mass meeting from among those who "are in accord with the principles of the Republican Party.
"I think it was run fairly and that's about all there is to say," Nutter said.
Phipps also questioned whether Marrs had paid his dues in the party, and said the party should have scrutinized his credentials more thoroughly. Before he announced his campaign in February, "I didn't know Doug Marrs had ever been affiliated with the Republican Party," Phipps said.
Marrs did not want to comment on that allegation.
"While Doug may be relatively new to Republican politics, the party is unanimous in his support," Nutter responded.
But the main reason Phipps is backing Ramsey, he said, has to do with the job itself. Phipps said Ramsey is more familiar with the office and has more experience conducting investigations into serious crimes, such as homicide, arson and robbery, than his opponents.
"I really feel strongly about him," Phipps said. "If I didn't I would just back away."
A candidates forum for the four sheriff contenders and the two candidates for commonwealth's attorney will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in Falling Branch Elementary School. The forum is sponsored by The Roanoke Times' New River Bureau.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB