The Virginian-Pilot
                            THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995              TAG: 9509030115
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   35 lines

``MEET THE CANDIDATES'' BEGINS VOTING SEASON

The Outer Banks political season kicks off in Southern Shores on Sept. 11 when the Dare County Chapter of the League of Women Voters holds the first in a series of ``Meet the Candidates'' programs.

The opening program will feature contestants for seats on the Southern Shores Town Council. The forum begins immediately following the regular meeting of the Southern Shores Civic Association at 7:30 p.m. at Kitty Hawk Elementary School.

Candidates for the Southern Shores Town Council include incumbent Mayor Kern Pitts, and current council members Gerald Beshensd and Dick Wood. Beshens and Wood were appointed to the board to fill unexpired terms.

Newcomers William ``Scott'' Fletcher and Robert Kenan Jr. are also on the Nov. 7 ballot. In Southern Shores, the mayor will be selected by a majority of the newly elected council at its first meeting in December.

Format for the events will include three-minute opening statements by the candidates. The audience will have the opportunity to submit written questions to the panel, followed by three-minute closing remarks.

Similar events will be held in Manteo on Oct. 2, Nags Head on Oct. 9, and Kill Devil Hills on Oct. 23.

There will be no league-sponsored event in Kitty Hawk. Incumbent council members Carl Parrott and Clifton Perry are running unopposed.

The Dare County Chapter of the League of Women Voters has held candidates' forums for county and municipal elections since its formation in 1987. by CNB