
DATE: Wednesday, June 11, 1997              TAG: 9706120710

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LOUIS HANSEN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   56 lines

J. PAUL COUNCILL JR. GLIDES TO VICTORY IN 75TH HOUSE DISTRICT

Twelve-term incumbent and education policy-shaper J. Paul Councill Jr. easily defeated challenger Del M. Mauhrine Brown in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the 75th District seat in the state House.

Unofficial results from the district's 50 precincts show Councill receiving 2,306 votes to Brown's 1,199 votes.

The meandering lines of the 75th district include all of Greensville and Sussex counties and the city of Emporia, and parts of Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Isle of Wight, Lunenburg, Southampton and Surry counties, and the city of Franklin.

Councill, 75, has served in the House since 1973. As chairman of the House Education Committee for the last decade, he has been a major force in shaping education policy in the commonwealth.

``I want to continue my support for education,'' Councill said in a post-election interview. ``We need to give our youngsters the best opportunities we can.''

No Republican has registered to run in the November general election.

Brown, who is new to the district, still maintains a residence in Virginia Beach. She teaches business law at Norfolk State University and is an associate in the Waverly law firm of Poindexter & Brown.

She ran unsuccessfully for the 62nd district seat in 1995 and moved into Waverly within a year.

Brown made her opposition to charter schools the focus of her campaign. Under a proposal being considered by the House Education Committee, school districts could elect to establish, or ``charter,'' small pilot schools that are dedicated to a special curriculum.

Councill believes the schools will benefit poor and rural school districts, including some in the 75th district, by allowing school boards the opportunity to create smaller schools tailored to the needs of their students.

Councill said he was pleased that his polls indicated that many Republicans crossed over and voted for him in the Democratic primary in Tuesday's dueling primaries.

``Many of the Republicans who might have leaned to the Republican primary thought it more important to elect their delegate,'' he said.

Councill said he also looked forward to working on industrial development projects in Franklin. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

J. Paul Councill Jr.

Graphic

VOTE TOTALS

75th District, Democratic primary

J. Paul Councill Jr.: 2,306

Del. M. Mauhrine Brown: 1,199 KEYWORDS: ELECTION SUFFOLK PRIMARY ELECTION

RESULTS