THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507070379
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
In 244 well-chosen words, Mayor Henry R. ``Rick'' Gardner said Yes on Thursday.
``I would like to formally announce that I am officially declaring that I will actively seek another term as mayor of the city of Elizabeth City,'' Gardner said at a press conference attended by his wife, Lydia.
``We're leaving for the beach as soon as this is over but I'll be back Monday to formally file for re-election,'' said the silver-topped Republican contractor in a statement that emphasized how much he had enjoyed his first two-year term.
Filing for the municipal elections will begin at noon today and will end at noon Aug. 4. Four seats on the City Council will be on the Oct. 10 city election ballot, along with the mayor's job.
Municipal elections will be held in Edenton, Hertford and Winfall in October, and in dozens of other municipalities across the state.
In Elizabeth City, the GOP mayor's most politically demanding chore - not counting rainy-day ribbon-cuttings and occasional Democratic-majority banquet speeches - involves tie-breaking votes on the eight-member City Council.
``I think I've had to break ties about six times in the last two years,'' said Gardner, who responds, yea-or-nay, in evenly divided votes as a ninth member of the city government.
Elizabeth City's demographic mix is reflected on the council, where four members are African American and four are white. As of June 30, 51 percent of the registered voters within the city limits were black and 48 percent white. All told in Pasquotank County, where Elizabeth City is the county seat, white voters number 65 percent and African Americans 34 percent.
Two seats held by blacks and two by whites will be on the October ballot, with one of the white seats available by default.
``I won't be eligible to run again because I'm moving out of the city,'' 1st Ward Councilman David Bosomworth said Thursday.
Bosomworth is a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain who, with his wife Phyllis, hopes to move this year into a home being built in nearby Pasquotank County. Bosomworth has been a gung-ho councilman with an admired grasp of city budget matters.
And for weeks 2nd Ward Councilman W.L. ``Pete'' Hooker, who has served for nearly 20 years as a councilman, has insisted that he doesn't intend to run again.
This week - as his friends predicted - Hooker changed his tune.
``I don't want to talk about it now. I don't know what I'll do. I'll let you know,'' said Hooker, a used-car dealer renowned for parliamentary ploys at council meetings.
The two African Americans whose council terms expire are 4th Ward Councilwoman Myrtle Rivers and 3rd Ward Councilman Jimi Sutton.
If she wants to run, Rivers probably can be re-elected from a 4th ward that has a large majority of registered female voters. Within the city limits, there are 4,873 women voters and 3,258 males.
Sutton is a high school teacher whose sometimes tart opinions command the council's attention.
So far, the mayor's race has attracted no other announced candidates. One possible candidate is Councilwoman Anita Hummer, from the city's 2nd Ward, who increasingly has established her presence at council meetings. No one at city hall will be surprised if Hummer tries to grab Gardner's job in the mayor's race.
``I've been thinking a lot about it - running for mayor,'' Hummer said Thursday.
Another possibility is Councilman A.C. Robinson Jr., an assistant vice-chancellor at Elizabeth City State University. Robinson, influential and ambitious as the council's mayor pro-tem, told friends this week that he didn't want the mayor's job and wouldn't seek it.
If Robinson could win the approval and support of ECSU Chancellor Jimmy R. Jenkins, Robinson would be a likely candidate for the mayor's chair, his friends believe. by CNB