Candidate Q&A: Peter Conlogue

What makes you the best candidate for City Council?

I believe I am a good choice for city council because I have received no money or other monetary goods or services from any organization, political party, or interest group. This means I owe nothing to anyone. So I am free to represent the voters honestly and fairly without pressure from other parties to cast my council vote contrary to what is truly right for the working class voters. I will be listening to their needs and desires.

What should be the city's top priority now, and how can it be achieved?

Public safety, education, infrastructure, and transportation. I cannot possibly prioritize any one over the other.

What do you think will be the city's most pressing issue in 10 years, and how can the city prepare for it?

Nobody can predict the future, only project it. Our Port and related businesses are going to be a much larger contributor to our economy than it is now. I see it as imperative the we invest in our ports and more especially those businesses that supply and support our marine terminals.

How do you respond to complaints that city leaders put developers’ interests ahead of residents’ needs?

I know that improvements are needed in South Norfolk, and I applaud our council for making arrangements to get that done. However, voting to give $40 million to a developer to build condos is funding private business with public tax dollars. That should not even be legal. I also applaud Councilmen Krasnoff and de Triquet for voting against it.

Cite one vote by a majority of City Council that you disagreed with in the past year and why.

I believe developers should bear some costs of infrastructure. For example, if a developer wishes to come to our city and build a few subdivisions that will ultimately thrust a thousand new students into our school system. Should we not require that the developer build a new school and supply a few new school buses?

Should the city and state raise more money to pay for transportation projects? If yes, how?

Raising money for transportation will always be a very pressing need. I think we should take a good hard look at wasteful spending and put a stop to it. And at the state level, we should address the issue of municipalities raising the tax on tobacco, alcohol, and other luxury products. I understand that New York City taxes cigarettes at $3 dollars per pack. It is inevitable that Virginia will have to look at this issue.