THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 1994                TAG: 9407060400
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Medium:   60 lines

SESSOMS VOTED BACK IN FOR VICE MAYOR

William D. Sessoms Jr., fresh from a victory in his race for an at-large council seat, snared enough votes Tuesday to win another two years as the city's vice mayor.

Sessoms, a 40-year-old bank vice president who has strong backing in the city's business community, won the support of seven council members. Nancy Parker, a member of the council's grass-roots faction, got four votes.

Parker was clearly the ``Plan B'' choice for her supporters. She was nominated after Louisa M. Strayhorn realized Sessoms had the votes to win. Strayhorn - a council newcomer considered a top contender for the largely ceremonial job - privately told the council she did not wish to be nominated.

Sessoms pledged to be a consensus builder. ``I want to concentrate on bringing the council together and working as a team,'' he said. He singled out the Lake Gaston pipeline delay as a major issue facing the city.

Before voting, the council held a closed-door session in an attempt to quietly hash out their differences. But Councilman John D. Moss blurted out the gist of the meeting in his speech nominating Parker.

Moss said that Strayhorn could have rounded-up five votes, including her own. He said he would have voted for her, along with Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, Robert K. Dean and Parker.

But it takes six votes to win on the 11-member council. Several council members said Councilwoman Barbara M. Henley - considered part of the grass-roots pack during her previous 12-year stint on council - was the swing vote for Sessoms.

Henley, who won the Pungo borough seat in May, said the recent setback on the Lake Gaston pipeline helped clinch her decision. To tackle such a serious problem, she said, the council needs the continuity and depth of experience that Sessoms can provide.

But Moss, in his speech and an interview, derided Sessoms as a politician who views the vice mayor's seat as a launching pad to challenge Oberndorf in the 1996 mayoral race. He said Sessoms often misses agenda planning meetings with Oberndorf and City Manager James K. Spore, or simply consults with them by telephone.

Sessoms said the times of those meetings vary, which can create scheduling problems. Sessoms said he sometimes handles those meetings by phone, but rarely misses a vote. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

William D. Sessoms Jr. won with 7 of 11 council votes.

Graphic

THE TALLY

For William D. Sessoms Jr.: John A. Baum; William W. Harrison

Jr.; Barbara Henley; Linwood O. Branch III, Louis R. Jones; Louisa

M. Strayhorn; Sessoms.

For Nancy K. Parker: Robert K. Dean; John D. Moss; Meyera E.

Oberndorf; Parker.

by CNB