PORTSMOUTH SHERIFF TRIES TO ENDURE STORM

PORTSMOUTH - Sheriff Gary W. Waters received a foreboding e-mail message
from a fellow Democrat shortly after the public learned that police had
caught him driving drunk and let him go.

"I do not think you can survive this," City Councilman Charles B.
Whitehurst Sr. wrote on Jan. 30.

Three weeks later, it remains unclear whether Waters will endure.

In 22 years as sheriff, he has been criticized for threatening to fire
disloyal deputies, for trying to take over police duties and for improperly
using his office during a campaign.

He also has been commended for improving jail conditions and championing
popular community service efforts, such as inmate work crews and a
drug-education program for children.

Over the years, voters have repeatedly re-elected him by overwhelming margins.

But his power could be slipping.

Even before the sheriff pleaded guilty this month to driving under the
influence, at least one of his marquee initiatives - the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program - had been dumped.

His authority, along with his department, also could diminish if Portsmouth
officials opt for a proposal to close the city jail and house those inmates
at the regional jail.

Now, politicians and people on the street are trying to figure out what
comes next.

Joe Wright, chairman of the Cavalier Manor Neighborhood Watch, said he has
forgiven Waters.

"He's up for re-election in November 2005," Wright said. "If nothing else
happens, I'll be supporting him." Stephen Heretick, 3rd Congressional
District chairman for the Democratic Party, said Waters has weakened his
political standing.

"Anybody who has ever wanted to be sheriff," he said, "is busy shining up
his resume."

Waters, 59, has spent much of his adult life in Portsmouth.

He was born in Florida and graduated from the Yokohama, Japan, High School
for Navy dependents. He has a bachelor's degree from Old Dominion
University, served in Vietnam and was on the Portsmouth police force for
nearly 16 years.

He initially agreed to be interviewed for this report but then changed his
mind. He answered some questions in writing. One subject he addressed was
the reason he wanted to become sheriff.

"My younger brother at 24 years of age had committed suicide in a local
jail," Waters wrote. "I wanted to prevent someone else's child from doing
the same thing. I wanted to make a difference in Portsmouth."

As a detective in the late 1970s, he helped gather information for a
special grand jury that studied the city jail. Several felons had escaped
around that time, and a state report found lax security and poor management.

Waters defeated the incumbent sheriff in the 1981 Democratic Party primary
and was elected to the position later that year.

Early on, he established a grievance procedure for inmates and won good
marks for the jail in state inspections.

Over the years, he has instituted a host of programs, including the DARE
project in schools . His inmate work crews have won state awards for
cleaning up public parks, highways and storm damage.

But Waters has been criticized for his approach at times.

Deputies have said that he pressured them to work on his re-election bids
and that he has threatened to fire those who supported his opponents.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, police officials chafed at some of
Waters' ideas - like a missing children's bureau - that seemed to duplicate
their department's duties. And his ambition to become the "city's public
safety director" also was not popular with some city officials and police.

In 1990, police set up a sobriety checkpoint near Waters' Christmas party,
according to published reports. Five people were arrested that night for
DUI, including at least one person from the party.

Waters said personality conflicts caused any problems that might have
existed between the departments.

"I have had an excellent working relationship with the police department,"
he said.

Bill Watson, a former deputy under Waters, disagreed.

"He's always been at war with the police department," said Watson, who has
said he intends to run for sheriff in 2005. "He wants to be chief of police."

As sheriff, Waters is assigned a government-issued sport utility vehicle
worth more than $30,000. His daughter is a sergeant with the department.

He is paid about $101,00 a year, manages a budget of $11 million and
oversees a department of 177 people.

If Waters steps down this year, he would receive about $6,000 a month from
the city's retirement plan, according to Jeff Yates, Portsmouth's budget
manager. The sheriff would receive more money if he leaves office next
year, Yates said, and his retirement benefits would not be affected by
whether he is removed from office or retires.

Waters dominated two opponents in the 2001 election, winning 71 percent of
the vote. He recently became chairman of the city's Democratic Party. Yet
he has faltered in the past year.

Since the late 1980s, Waters has trumpeted the DARE program as one of his
most important accomplishments.

But Portsmouth schools Superintendent David C. Stuckwisch discontinued it
recently and rejected Waters' offer to fully fund the program. Stuckwisch
said students could put the 14 classroom hours to better use.

Last month, Waters spoke to a task force charged with determining the
future for the city's courthouse and jail.

He discouraged members from choosing to house inmates at the Hampton Roads
Regional Jail because it would lead to major cuts in his department and
hinder his ability to provide community services programs.

Then came the drunken-driving conviction and widespread public speculation
over whether he had done the same thing before.

Waters said he was never stopped before for driving under the influence,
and Police Chief Frank J. Kitzerow has said he looked into the matter
himself and found no evidence to dispute that.

Police did, however, receive a call about Waters' black Ford Expedition
shortly before 1 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2002, records show.

A woman told police that a man was "driving all over the road" near the
intersection of Hartford Street and Mount Vernon Avenue i n the city's Port
Norfolk section.

Dispatchers took down the license plate number but reported that the tags
were not listed in state Department of Motor Vehicles records. Often,
unmarked or undercover law enforcement vehicles are not listed.

Dispatchers logged the incident as "Driving Under the Influence," a
classification they use if there is a report of erratic driving, according
to police.

Two officers went to the scene, but they reported that they did not locate
the vehicle, according to police. No charges were filed.

Waters refused to answer any questions about the matter.

He also declined to comment about his department's hiring and personnel
practices with regard to DUI convictions.

He has hired at least one person who was fired from a Portsmouth law
enforcement agency after a DUI conviction.

Aside from DARE, his department has sponsored several activities to combat
drug and alcohol abuse, including distributing literature about
drunken-driving fatalities to the parents of teens.

"Anything that I can do to keep people from using drugs or alcohol to the
excess I want to do," Waters said in a written statement. "I want to stop
people from doing what I did. What I did was wrong."

Hundreds of people called for Waters' removal from office after hearing of
the hourlong traffic stop in December during which he admitted he had been
drinking alcohol but refused to undergo field sobriety tests and insisted
on calling an assistant police chief.

Someone even printed a business-card-sized "D.U.I. Free Pass" that reads,
"Compliments of Portsmouth Sheriff Gary Waters."

Waters issued a written apology five days after information about the stop
was released by Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley. Nine days later,
after Mobley announced that a special grand jury would investigate the
incident, Waters pleaded guilty.

"Gary's delay in offering public comment and in accepting responsibility
certainly was the subject of controversy on all kinds of levels," said
Heretick, the Democratic Party official.

State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, called for Waters to step down
from his leadership position in the city's Democratic Party.

Others said they were satisfied once Waters pleaded guilty.

"Everyone in their life makes a mistake at one time or another," said state
Del. Johnny S. Joannou, D-Portsmouth. "His action was not one in his line
of duty."

Hank Morris was part of a group that led an unsuccessful petition drive in
the late 1990s to remove another constitutional officer:
then-Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock.

Morris, a Republican, said he won't do that with Waters for a variety of
reasons.

One is the difference between continued problems in Bullock's
administration and a single major controversy in Waters' career. Another
reason, he said, is that the sheriff's inmate work crew has pitched in once
a week for seven years to clean up Cedar Grove Cemetery at Morris' request.

"There's too many positive things," Morris said. "If I took a negative
stance against Sheriff Waters, it would come back to haunt me."

When Mayor James W. Holley III kicked off his re-election campaign, he
praised the sheriff despite the widespread disapproval of Waters expressed
to the mayor's office in recent weeks. Holley's laudatory remarks were met
with subdued applause.

"He's still doing things he was doing before his other difficulties,"
Holley said in an interview after the breakfast. "He's still the sheriff."

There is talk about a possible petition to remove Waters from office.

And Portsmouth Republican Party Chairman Bryan K. Meals said Watson and two
others have approached him about running in next year's election. If Waters
does face a Republican opponent in 2005, it will be only his second GOP
challenger in 20 years.

"From a political perspective, it can only help us," Meals said. "People
are unhappy with it. They think it is a black mark on the city."

Councilman Whitehurst said in a recent interview that he is still receiving
critical comments from constituents, but he is no longer certain that the
DUI controversy will bring down Waters.

"I have not heard anybody say they were satisfied," Whitehurst said. "If it
were me, I would have resigned."