'Mailergate' has been the big story in the race for the 51st

Call it Mailergate.

Everything seemed to be near-hunky dory in the race for the 51st District House of Delegates seat until Oct. 9, when GOP challenger Rich Anderson sent a campaign mailer to about 15,000 homes in northeastern Prince William County.

Then the fireworks started.

The flier noted that Del. Paul F. Nichols was arrested in 2006 in North Carolina.

The Democrat was on a golf trip to the Outer Banks with a group of friends when one of their cars was pulled over on the suspicion that the driver was drunk.

The driver passed field sobriety tests, though, and wasn't charged.

But Nichols, who was a passenger in a car following behind, jumped out to see what was happening.

Then he was arrested on charges including assault of a police officer.

On these details, challenger and incumbent can agree.

But Nichols said he was the victim in the scenario, not the aggressor. He said the officer threw him to the ground, bloodying his nose.

And, he said, a judge later dismissed all charges. The policeman involved not only didn't show up in court, Nichols said, he wasn't even on the Southern Shores, N.C., force by then.

Anderson doesn't dispute that the charges were dismissed, but he said voters needed to know that Nichols was arrested.

Nichols also didn't like that the mailer showed an image of his arrest record, which included lots of personal information, including his Social Security number.

He said Anderson may have broken the law by disseminating the document. That's because after the charges were dismissed, the Lake Ridge lawyer had the entire matter expunged from the public record.

Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert last week asked that a special prosecutor look into the case because he's a fellow Democrat and Nichols supporter.

So, for the moment, Mailergate is at a standstill, though it's still alive in the candidates' advertisements and in political conservations around Prince William.

But while that hubbub has grabbed the headlines, the rivals have talked about the issues over the past few months, too. They tend to agree that Virginia residents' taxes shouldn't be raised and that support for small businesses is important to make it out of the recession.

They also agree that something needs to be done about Northern Virginia's transportation problems. But while Nichols is focused firmly on extending Metrorail to Woodbridge, Anderson said he thinks bringing high-speed rail service to the area is a more likely immediate solution.

Which fix -- and which politico -- voters like best won't be known until Election Day, Nov. 3.

In the meantime, Nichols is winning the money race.

He had raised $376,211 in campaign funds this year as of Sept. 30, according to the State Board of Elections, and spent $345,746.

Anderson, meanwhile, had raised $170,179, and spent $151,277.

Nichols said he wants to return to Richmond to continue working with his Dem colleagues and across the aisle to get things done.

"I'm a relationship-builder," said the legislator, who'll be joined by one of those colleagues, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, today at Dixie Bones restaurant in Woodbridge.

Anderson, while a newcomer to politics, said he's no stranger to seeking the common good. He retired Feb. 1 after a 30-year career in the Air Force.

"Public service is really what I've known all my life," he said.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.