Drake's political strength: bonding with voters

VIRGINIA BEACH

An angry man is holding a carving knife and telling Thelma Drake how much he dislikes her. It's nothing specific. He's just mad this October afternoon, slicing roast beef, slapping together sandwiches under a tent.

Not one to give up on even the most unpromising voters, Drake tries to draw him out. The man grumbles something about out-of-control spending.

She immediately agrees.

"If I had my wish, we'd put it all back on the table and look at what could be cut, but that's not the way it works," she says.

A fragile piece of common ground reached, Drake moves on, working the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce Harvest Fest with the determination and efficiency of a seasoned politician.

"Real politics at its finest," says state Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who's shep herding Drake, introducing her with the line, "I'm her lawyer."

In the first 45 minutes, she shakes nearly 80 hands. If it were up to McDonnell, she'd move faster. But Drake enjoys talking to voters, even if they don't live in the 2nd District.

A three-minute chat with a group from out of state has McDonnell mumbling under his breath: "Let's go, Thelma. They're from Ohio."

As Thelma Drake, 58, works to fend off a challenge from Democratic opponent Glenn Nye, she relies on perhaps her greatest political strength: the ability to develop lasting relationships with voters.

Almost to a person, her supporters have a tale of the time the former real estate agent, civic league leader, PTA president, 20-year Ocean View resident, member of the House of Delegates and now two-term congresswoman returned a phone call or took time to explain a piece of legislation.

"If you write her a note or send her a picture, she thanks you. She remembers," said Martha Cisney, a past president of the Princess Anne Republican Women's Club. "She can explain to people what's going on in a way the lay person can understand."

Businesswoman Rowena Fullinwider said she'll never forget the time Drake called to suggest a homeopathic doctor to help her through the pain of cancer treatments.

"As a human being, that was a concern of hers," Fullinwider said.

Opponents, on the other hand, portray Drake as a partisan foot soldier putting GOP interests ahead of the district.

"Thelma Drake is a party loyalist, and in this age when we need problem-solvers, she's a partisan operative," said Democrat Phil Kellam, the Virginia Beach commissioner of revenue who lost a close congressional race to her in 2006.

Drake's terms in Congress are marked by strong support for President Bush's tax cuts, increased military spending and the war in Iraq.

She's broken off from the president this year, recently voting twice against the Wall Street bailout legislation, which she called "terrible."

Thelma Drake's background resonates with supporters. She grew up in a Roman Catholic family near Cleveland, became pregnant at 17, didn't go to college, moved to Norfolk with her Navy husband, divorced, raised two children mostly by herself while refusing to apply for welfare benefits, remarried and divorced, applied to work as a secretary at a real estate agency where the owner hired her as a saleswoman instead.

"There are no frills. Thelma's just an honest-to-goodness citizen," said Karen Beauchamp, a past president of the Beach Republican Party.

Drake excelled in real estate, selling between 60 and 80 homes a year, she said, a pace that required a grueling schedule. When her third husband's brother was killed in a bicycle accident, she cut back to spend more time with family. She took Sundays off.

In addition to her work, Drake was active in civic leagues. One formed in her living room. She was president of the Granby High School PTA and in the late 1980s battled the Norfolk Housing Authority, which wanted some of her bayside property for a city project. Describing herself as a "wild woman," Drake worked out an arrangement that allowed her to keep it.

"I told them that the day would never come when they take my house," she said.

Now she owns 12 properties worth more than $2.5 million, according to her financial disclosure statement.

In 1993, when Republicans were looking for someone to challenge Del. Howard Copeland, they tapped Drake. She narrowly lost but almost immediately began campaigning again with support from Gov. George Allen.

Portraying Copeland as a "tax-and-spend liberal," she toppled the 15-year incumbent in 1995.

Copeland, citing his early membership in the Norfolk Tea Party, a low-tax advocacy group, calls the characterization "blatantly false."

"She said anything she thought would work," he said.

In nine years in the House of Delegates, Drake worked mainly to restrict the power of housing authorities and on landlord-tenant issues, while fending off challengers to her seat.

"She's a very adroit campaigner," said Leo Wardrup, a former Republican delegate and desk mate of Drake's in the General Assembly.

In 2004, Republicans tapped Drake to run for Congress, passing over former state. Sen. Nick Rerras and Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne. The GOP incumbent, Ed Schrock, was stepping down.

Drake defeated political newcomer David Ashe, a Democrat, portraying the former Marine and Iraq war veteran as soft on terrorism, which he found surprising.

"When I was on the streets of Iraq all day every day, I thought I was pretty good on the war on terror," he said.

In 2006, Drake survived a close race against Kellam. While she was hit with a barrage of negative advertising from MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy group, her campaign manager found a North Carolina assault charge - ultimately dismissed - against Kellam from 1978. The story made its way onto a conservative blog and into newspaper stories.

This year, Drake has focused her campaign on energy issues, pushing for natural gas and oil drilling off the Virginia coast, which she says would lower gas prices.

She's also focused a lot on her opponent.

In her second debate with Nye, days after the national financial crisis emerged, she accused him of breaking the law by taking a tax break on a house he co-owns with his brother. The charge turned out to be unfounded.

Drake repeatedly has raised questions about where Nye lives. He says he rents a house in the Thalia area of Virginia Beach and spends time at his sister's house in Norfolk, where he is registered to vote. "If I had to guess, I'd say he lived with his sister," Drake said.

Drake also questioned Nye's account of helping free a hostage in Macedonia. She accused him of making it sound like he had a "knife in his teeth" when most of his work was done over the phone from the U.S. embassy. Nye won a State Department award for locating the hostage and pressuring insurgents to release him.

At an early October news conference, Drake wondered aloud about the incident.

"I think someone needs to ask some questions."

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com