THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 9, 1995 TAG: 9510090030
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS AND ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 154 lines
The outburst came from nowhere.
One minute, the four candidates joked about their ages and waistlines. The next minute, they were at each other's throats.
``Mr. Wright!'' Republican Albert Teich Jr. attacked. ``Am I a liar?''
Yes indeed, Democrat W. Randy Wright shot back. ``I can show you letters and stuff that have absolute lies in it!''
It's a well-kept secret in Norfolk politics, but the most bitter, hardest-fought campaign of the year isn't for state Senate or House of Delegates. It's among four men who want to be a clerk.
And it's not just Norfolk. In every city in South Hampton Roads, there is a contested election for the obscure - but lucrative - job of clerk of Circuit Court.
How unusual is that?
Consider: The job comes open only every eight years. That's an eternity in politics, where congressmen run every two years, councilmen every four, U.S. senators every six.
Then, too, the election often goes uncontested. It's no coincidence that every clerk in South Hampton Roads has served at least 10 years, and some have served 20 and 30 years.
Yet when voters enter the voting booth on Nov. 7, most will stall when they get to the line for court clerk candidates, scratch their heads and mutter, ``Huh?''
The candidates know.
``I just don't think enough people know about the clerk's job,'' acknowledges Norfolk Clerk William T. Ryan, who is retiring this year. ``They will eventually end up here, but it's not every day in the newspapers, like the City Council. It's not in the public's eye. It's not the kind of thing that slaps people in the face.''
Most folks, of course, don't go to Circuit Court. They don't sue anybody. They aren't arrested for felonies. They don't research deeds.
But, as Virginia Beach Clerk J. Curtis Fruit puts it, ``We get you sooner or later.''
When you marry, you get your license at Circuit Court. Divorced? That's in Circuit Court, too. Buy a house? The deed's in Circuit Court. And when you die, the will goes to Circuit Court.
So the job is important.
It pays well, too. In Norfolk, for example, the clerk makes $92,000 a year - enough money that the salary, too, has become a campaign issue. (The question: Is someone running for the job just to boost his salary?)
For voters, though, a bigger issue is how to judge a candidate for clerk. What exactly are the issues? What could they possibly be?
``People do not know about the office,'' says Wright, a Norfolk city councilman who is running for clerk.
Wright's chief opponent, Teich, agrees: ``It's not a vital burning issue. But it is more than a glorified file clerk. That clerk's office is going to affect you one way or another, directly or indirectly.''
So how do voters judge a candidate?
Unlike councilmen and legislators, clerks don't make policy. They can't lower taxes. They can't abolish the death penalty. They can't reform welfare, or build schools, or hire more police.
They simply keep records and help the public.
``In a clerk's race,'' says Fruit, who is opposed by independent Louis M. Pace, ``I'd look at the candidate's background, what they've been involved with in their professional life. Do they have any experience dealing with legal matters? Do they have any experience being a manager of people?''
Easy to say, harder to do.
How does a voter measure ``experience''? What kind of experience counts the most in a clerk?
In Portsmouth and Chesapeake, the debate has centered on the need for new blood vs. decades of on-the-job experience.
Incumbents in both cities - Lillie Hart in Chesapeake, Walter ``Square'' Edmonds in Portsmouth - have considerable experience. They are fending off criticisms of inefficiency, low office morale, outdated technology and poor cross-training of employees.
In Chesapeake, Democrat Hart is running for a second eight-year term. She has worked in the office since 1967 and has been clerk for about 12 years. Her opponent is Republican Vista K. Cotten, a businesswoman.
Both women are well-known for their contributions in the community. ``Lil is above reproach,'' said Grindly Johnson, chair of the Chesapeake Democratic Party. ``Lil has been in the city for a long time, and everyone knows her. And the two buzzwords these days, honesty and integrity, that's Lil Hart. She's your grandmother.''
Cotten, however, cites problems with outdated equipment, low morale among employees, and a need to make the office more friendly to customers. ``We need to bring our constitutional offices up to the 20th century and prepare to enter the 21st,'' Cotten said.
In Portsmouth, Democrat Edmonds is squaring off against Republican George Talbot, a lawyer. Edmonds has been clerk for 25 years. This is the first time he has had a Republican challenger.
Edmonds, 61, boasts name recognition and on-the-job experience. Talbot, 50, highlights his legal expertise and new ideas. ``He's running things as he always has,'' Talbot said. ``I don't think he's necessarily progressed.''
Edmonds could not be reached for comment.
Local Republicans hope this election will reverse the Democrats' longtime stranglehold on the city.
``I really think getting George elected . . . is the beginning of a real wind of change in the city of Portsmouth,'' said Caroline Barnes, chairwoman of the Portsmouth Republican Party. ``There's a lot of dissatisfaction with the status quo.
``Portsmouth is a difficult city to run in as a Republican. It's voted Democrat for years and years.''
Lucy Overton, interim chair of the Portsmouth Democratic Party, said party members don't take this election lightly, despite their longtime influence. ``It's very hard to unseat an incumbent,'' Overton said. Edmonds ``has served well and I doubt whether he'll be unseated. I think he knows his work and he knows his job.''
In Norfolk, the ``experience'' issue takes a different twist.
When they aren't arguing over side issues, the Norfolk candidates debate the very meaning of ``experience.'' None has ever worked in the clerk's office.
Teich, a lawyer, says he could do the clerk's job right away because of his 38 years of legal experience. He says Wright, a printer, would be hopelessly lost in the job.
``I know deep in my heart Randy Wright is not qualified to be clerk. He has no background experience that would serve him well going in there,'' Teich said. ``I don't want someone in there who will contribute to the decline of a very smooth-running clerk's office.''
Wright emphasizes his years of public service, including 3 1/2 years on the City Council. He says he is not impressed by Teich's 38 years at the courthouse.
``He hasn't worked one day in the clerk's office,'' Wright said. ``I've been in City Hall for 3 1/2 years. I've been in and out of the city manager's office. Could I be the city manager? I don't think so.''
Two other court clerk hopefuls - independents Ben Rogerson and Malcolm Gaines - emphasize their business experience, while candidate Clyde A. Turner has not participated in any candidate forums or responded to interview requests.
Rogerson, 70, was a police captain, then chief of security at Newport News Shipbuilding, now head of a private security firm. Gaines, 36, runs his own small construction business. Both claim experience managing people.
In Suffolk, Republican Gene T. Strickland is challenging Henry C. Murden, an incumbent with 28 years' experience as clerk.
Strickland, the 32-year-old owner of a construction company, has said that as cities emphasize crime fighting, Suffolk needs ``someone who is able to change and grow with the judicial system.''
But Murden believes his experience is an asset in the clerk's role.
Getting residents interested in clerks' races isn't easy, Rogerson, the Norfolk candidate, admits.
``There isn't that much controversy other than the qualifications of the people running,'' Rogerson said. ``It's a service-oriented business.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Here are the candidates for clerk of court:
For copy of graphic, see microfilm.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION CANDIDATE CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT by CNB