THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605110161
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: Kevin Armstrong
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Tuesday's election results offer the second piece of a three-pronged solution to restoring our school system's battered reputation.
A special grand jury began the process in February by chasing off most of the board members who were in charge when their ship ran aground in troubled financial waters.
Voters sorted through a slew of options and elected a new crew.
Now it's up to those anointed few to chart a new course.
The best place to start is a meeting between Rosemary Wilson and Nancy Dahlman Guy. They were given the clearest mandate among seven new board members, so let the future begin with them.
I don't know how much Wilson and Guy have talked, given that their campaign trails were routed on criss-crossing schedules. But it's time they got together.
Wilson emerged from a crowded field of 22 contestants a clear winner in the four-year, at-large race. Even more impressive is what likely catapulted her to victory: a list of supporters that covered the map geographically, politically and philosophically. Those pre-election efforts of building broad-based support will come in handy when she confronts the challenge of working with a group of leaders brought together under the most peculiar of circumstances.
Guy faced a different kind of challenge in the Lynnhaven race. Like him or not, Ben Krause was among the fiercest competitors in the entire field of 43, let alone the quartet of Lynnhaven candidates. He was first to declare his candidacy for a board seat and was second only to the Public Works Department in littering the city with signs. Guy carried every single precinct in the borough race, beating Krause at every turn.
Wilson and Guy also represent the two greatest special interests in this election. Forget Kids First, the conservative watchdog group that challenged the Virginia Beach Education Association two years ago. This year's election was a contest between a well-organized component of the local Republican Party and the teachers union.
Wilson won support from politicians of every banner but make no mistake that she was a standard-bearer for the GOP. Likewise, Guy won endorsement from the teachers and never looked back in her sprint to the finish, though it appears she could have crawled.
Having a leader of both groups on the board ensures that neither can dominate. Getting them to work together makes the Wilson-Guy pact even more urgent.
Interestingly, both Republicans and VBEA leaders didn't win more seats because of two key vote-splitters: George Coker and Sandy Bowie.
Coker, a Republican, helped elect Donald Bennis, though he's reluctant to take credit, I'm sure. Coker won only enough support to finish third among 13 candidates for the two-year, at-large seat. But he won more than enough votes to keep Republican hopeful Gail Ball from victory. Ball lost to Bennis by only 215 votes. Coker won 415 votes in his home precinct alone. Mr. Bennis owes Coker a thank-you card by those calculations.
Similarly, Bowie kept another educators' favorite from winning a seat. Attorney Stuart Gordon had been the choice of teachers, but he finished third in his race for a four-year, at-large seat. Wilson won one of the seats and another attorney, Neil Rose, earned the other. Had it not been for Bowie's strong showing - much of it from the education system in which she has been actively involved for many years - Gordon might have finished ahead of Rose.
Such is the role of the spoiler.
The bigger roles, though, are left to clear winners. And that takes us back to Wilson and Guy.
We've had our say, ladies. Now it's your turn. Lead the way. by CNB