THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 21, 1995 TAG: 9506200106
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
They filed early and planted a crop of campaign signs in local fields by mid-May.
And by the filing deadline last week, three candidates for sheriff of Isle of Wight County already were beginning to volley campaign promises around like bullets ricocheting on a shooting range.
The incumbent: Charles W. ``Charlie'' Phelps.
The challengers: Shelton Spivey, a Windsor Town councilman, and William T. ``Billy'' Chrisman, a Smithfield police officer.
Phelps says he will continue to concentrate on programs in the county that make Isle of Wight a better place to live. Since he's been in office, he says, he's broadened the DARE drug prevention program to all county schools and plans to take DARE into the middle schools next year.
He's established a citizens' observer program, trained a tactical team, built an auxiliary division, supported Special Olympics, established a community-based method of policing the county and worked with a summer youth employment program.
``The issue in this campaign is the amount of law enforcement experience the candidates have,'' Phelps said recently. ``I have 25 years of experience right here in Isle of Wight.''
Phelps, a 51-year-old Newport News native running as an independent, worked 16 years on the Smithfield Police Department before seeking the elected post in 1983. He was defeated by the incumbent that year, but he came back to win four years later and is serving his second term.
Phelps has said his campaign will be based on his years of experience and on his performance during the two terms he's served.
Spivey says he has as much experience in law enforcement as his opponent. Spivey spent 18 years with the Suffolk Sheriff's Department before joining the Community Diversion Incentive Probation Program in Hampton, where he is a probation and parole officer.
``I think I'm the most qualified candidate for the job,'' Spivey said.
Spivey, 45, is an Isle of Wight native who grew up in Carrsville. He has a master's degree in urban studies, counseling and education from Old Dominion University and a master's from Golden State University in public administration/government. He's an adjunct professor at both Paul D. Camp and Tidewater community colleges.
Running as a Democrat, Spivey already has started an advertising campaign. He's knocking on doors and talking with civic groups.
Phelps and the third candidate for the sheriff's seat, Chrisman, aren't far behind.
I've been talking to people, speaking with different groups. I've got cards and bumper stickers,'' Chrisman said.
Chrisman, 38, has less experience in law enforcement than the other two candidates, but he has had extensive training since joining the local force in 1989.
What he lacks in experience, he said, he feels he makes up for in classes and formal training. Chrisman is a general field training instructor and a firearms instructor on the Smithfield force.
A former general and electrical contractor, he is a native of Portsmouth. He graduated from Wilson High School and has attended Paul D. Camp Community College.
Chrisman said recently he believes the Sheriff's Department needs to work harder to become a part of the growing community, particularly the youth community. He would like to see a deputy assigned to each school to interact with the students.
``The Sheriff's Department needs to be run like a business,'' Chrisman said. ``It does provide a service to the community. The county is ready for a change.''
Chrisman, like Phelps, is running as an independent.
Spivey and Phelps already are taking shots at each other.
Phelps said he sees a possible conflict of interest in that Spivey is running for sheriff while his brother, L. Lorenzo ``Ren'' Spivey, is running for the Windsor District seat on the county Board of Supervisors.
If both brothers are elected, Phelps said, Ren Spivey would be on the board that oversees the Sheriff's Department.
Spivey responds that it would be no more a conflict of interest than having your son employed in your department, as Phelps does.
Phelps said that while Spivey offers 18 years experience in the Suffolk Sheriff's Department, that's not the kind of experience he would need in Isle of Wight: The Suffolk Sheriff's Department acts as a support system for the courts, while the Suffolk Police Department enforces the law. In Isle of Wight, the Sheriff's Department is responsible for law enforcement as well as court support.
Spivey said that Phelps, as part of his community-based policing policy, has established a satellite office in Smithfield, which already has a Police Department. That office, Spivey said, should be in Carrollton, where population in the county is growing rapidly.
While Chrisman so far has been quiet about what he sees as his opponents' shortcomings, it's still early in the campaign.
November is months away. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos
Competing for the office of sheriff are, clockwise from top left:
Incumbent sheriff Charles W. ``Charlie'' Phelps is being challenged
by William T. ``Billy'' Chrisman, a Smithfield police officer, and
Shelton Spivey, a Windsor Town councilman.
KEYWORDS: ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY SHERIFF'S RACE CANDIDATE by CNB