THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030482
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
There was a time when you couldn't find a Republican in Chesapeake if you yelled ``Ronald Reagan'' in a crowded theater.
All the while, Democrats subtly crooned of their party allegiance.
This election year, it is a very different story.
With the seats of two Republicans and a pair of Democrats up for election May 7, Republicans are unabashedly touting their party.
Democrats, however, are avoiding the ``D'' word, in a move they say is designed to avoid the disruptiveness of party politics, not obscure their true affiliations.
Council candidate Elizabeth Thornton has consistently shied away from being called a Democrat, and even the city's mayor, a Democratic stalwart of long standing, does not want the label pinned on him.
``I'm honoring the voters' mandate,'' said Mayor William E. Ward, who has avoided invoking his party in his run against GOP mayoral challenger John Cosgrove.
``Everyone knows I'm a Democrat,'' Ward said. ``But this is a nonpartisan council, and I am simply abiding by the will of the people.''
In 1985, the City Council changed the city charter to eliminate local partisan elections.
The Democratic mayor at the time, Sydney M. Oman, said it was hoped the elimination of party primaries would allow more people to run for public office.
Oman said it seems to have worked. But the former three-term mayor admitted that ``all it did, actually, was to eliminate the primary.''
Ironically, it was the Republicans who spearheaded the nonpartisan charter change to help counter a longtime Democratic majority.
Republican Mayor William Overton began pushing the issue in the late 1970s, and GOP Mayor David I. Wynne spearheaded the effort in the mid-1980s.
Republicans may actually be violating the Chesapeake City Charter by bringing partisan politics into the race. The charter specifically states that, after July 1, 1985, all elections in Chesapeake shall be nonpartisan.
Citizens can petition the city to prohibit party labels. But there is little time, and so far, no challenges have been raised.
Ward's campaign literature this year mentions that property taxes were reduced in Chesapeake in 1994 and 1995 and that no new taxes have been implemented despite millions of dollars being spent on major capital projects. It says nothing about the Democrats' role in this or Ward's affiliation with the Democratic Party.
In contrast, a campaign flier for the GOP-endorsed slate gives credit for the tax-increase moratorium to the Republican majority on the council, despite the cooperation of the other party.
``Until the Republican majority took over on City Council in 1994, taxes in Chesapeake were headed higher and higher,'' reads the flier, which carries a notice that it was paid for by candidates John Cosgrove, Dalton Edge, Robert Nance and Bill Pierce. ``But Republicans on council stood up and said no more! Keeping a strong Republican majority on council and in the mayor's office is our best defense against those who want the taxing and spending to begin all over again.''
``I just felt it was good to ask for the party's endorsement,'' said Nance, the current vice mayor, who is seeking a second term. Nance added that he is still receiving bipartisan support despite the GOP label.
``I went to every group, including black civic groups, to get the endorsement. I did it with the firefighters.''
Chesapeake's GOP School Board candidates have also noted their endorsement by the Chesapeake Republican Party.
Chesapeake residents elected the first GOP-majority on the council in 1994.
A year later, after Vice Mayor Arthur L. Dwyer resigned amid accusations that he abused his position by seeking benefits for a Chesapeake woman and her family, the Republican majority appointed Republican Dalton S. Edge to fill Dwyer's seat.
Edge was defeated in a special election in 1995 that was won by Democrat Dwight M. Parker, who is running for re-election on Ward's ticket.
``Here's the reason for the two different tacks,'' said Councilman John M. de Triquet, who was elected on a GOP-backed ticket in 1994. ``The reason is that the Republican Party is committed to fundamental principles, not weather-vane principals. The members who are running understand that the Republican Party has a traditional commitment to those basic principles, including growth management, low taxation and families. The Democratic Party has not been traditionally committed to those.''
Those in the other camp disagree, claiming they believe such wrangling over titles is part of the problem.
``Party labels have really been divisive for this city council,'' said Thornton.
``Our ticket is trying to do what's best for Chesapeake, and we're looking at the issues. We're certainly not ashamed of being Democrats. But when there's a lot of partisan bickering, people get really turned off. It really is destructive to the democratic process.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Elizabeth Thornton
Dwight M. Parker
William E. Ward
KEYWORDS: ELECTION CHESAPEAKE REPUBLICAN PARTY
CANDIDATES CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCILMANIC RACE by CNB