PORTSMOUTH
They've poured more money into education, helped keep an ethanol plant from opening near Cradock, and improved the city's bond rating.
This election season, City Council incumbents Steve Heretick, Ray Smith and Elizabeth Psimas have pointed to education, economic development and property tax relief as examples of their political accomplishments.
They face a competitive race with five challengers for three at-large council seats - including former Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst.
Longtime Mayor James Holley also faces a challenger - civic activist Martha Ann Creecy.
In campaign speeches and at forums, the incumbents also have said that more work needs to be done. Their priorities include raising salaries for the city's public safety employees over the next several years.
"We've got some great people, but we've got to pay them competitively," Psimas said.
Additional real estate tax relief is another priority for the first-term incumbents going forward.
Psimas and Heretick said Friday that they had each mistakenly stated in campaign materials that the residential real estate tax rate had decreased by 22 cents since they took office. The rate has been decreased by 19 cents since 2004 - from $1.45 to $1.26.
On Smith's Web site, he underestimated the amount the real estate tax rate had changed during the time he had been in office by a penny.
During a year when Portsmouth faces a projected budget shortfall of $5.5 million, fiscal management has been a theme of the race.
This year's challengers also have said they wonder whether life really has gotten better for Portsmouth residents during their incumbents' tenures.
They, too, all support a raise for public safety employees but have questioned the current council's spending priorities.
Challenger Steve Carroll pointed to the vacant properties and "for sale" signs that dot the city.
"People are leaving the city in droves. And they are doing it because they can't pay their taxes," Carroll said.
He and challenger Jim Ellis have argued that since 2004, the city's tax rate has decreased by 13 percent while residential real estate assessments have increased by 71 percent.
They and other challengers say Portsmouth officials have overspent the city's money. Overspending combined with inflation led to the city's projected budget shortfall this year, challenger Paige Cherry said.
In addition to developing a public safety pay plan, Cherry supports fully funding the city's schools.
Whitehurst and challenger Terry Morrison also have said they want to support continued funding for education.
Cherry questioned what he described as "tunnel vision" when it comes to neighborhood improvements. Rather than trying to fix everything in one neighborhood, he thinks the city should work on the top problems in each community.
"We just need to spread the wealth," he said.
The other challengers also listed more neighborhood investment as a priority.
"Where's the money going? It's not coming to my neighborhood," Morrison said.
Whitehurst, Ellis and Carroll also have argued that council incumbents have hired too many consultants and failed to listen to residents' concerns.
"When are they going to start having a say?" Whitehurst asked.
Several challengers also have questioned the city's financial involvement in public-private partnerships such as the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Such facilities don't benefit the taxpayers, they have said.
"We always seem to get the short end of the stick," Ellis said.
Psimas agreed and said the city has done a poor job with public-private partnership projects. She listed nTelos Pavilion as an example. In 2004, Portsmouth officials acknowledged that the city had lapsed in overseeing the $13 million project.
She said that's why the council asked the city manager to hire a staffer to manage larger projects.
Smith said economic development is essential for Portsmouth's future. More than half of the property in the land-locked city of 33 square miles is nontaxable.
"We can't go back to 1985," Heretick said. "We can't go back to an empty High Street."
Whitehurst, who has singled out the council for spending $2.2 million for a traffic circle downtown, also has faced criticism for lambasting projects such as the roundabout, which he voted for when he served on council.
In the mayor's race, Holley has said he wants to serve four more years and continue the city's "renaissance."
His challenger, Creecy, has said that she supports raises for public safety employees, stronger code enforcement and more neighborhood investment.
Jen McCaffery, (757) 446-2627, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com
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"Renaissance" my eye
What "renaissance" is he referring to--the hotel? He's a joke. Get him out. Get them all out--and DON'T vote in more losers that had ties to the city before--it needs to be truly fresh blood to do any type of good.
Election
Portsmouth, you have a chance to re-claim your city on May 6th. Please vote out the tax and spend incumbents and vote for responsible leadership in Steve Carroll, Jim Ellis, and Terry Morrison. Show Holley the door and vote for Martha Creecy for Mayor.
MAY IS YOUR CHANCE
TO VOTE FOR CHANGE because the INCUMBENT Portsmouth Mayor-City Council have NOT looked out for public's best interest & have NOT earned your vote too. They are only concerned about holding onto POWER by manipulating public perception that they care. They pretend to care about lowering taxes by decreasing city rate but then over-inflate your property assessments to make up for the difference. They pretend to care about economic development by building a Walmart & hope local residents to spend their federal welfare rebate checks to support a stagnant economy. They pretend to care about hiring competent city employees but then spend millions of tax dollars on hiring private consultants to do their work & then blame them for the persistent problems. They also claim to be concerned about decreasing city spending but yet MAYOR HOLLEY thinks its fine to spend YOUR tax dollars for City function events & driving city vehicles for his own pleasure after having his THIRD ACCIDENT. THAT IS NOT CHANGE - THAT IS JUST PURE INCOMPETENCE!
What?
Creecy and Whitehurst showing concern for citizens? That's a joke. In the years both were either on council or involved in the CAR neither one ever listened to the residents of the historic districts. They both believed it was good that government and unelected people tell homeowners what they could do with their property. They only want power, nothing else.
For those who say they don't think the incumbents have done a good job how many of you overwhelmingly voted back in the incompetents Moody and Randall? Where were these arguments two years ago.
The incumbents get my vote. They've taken a difficult job and at least tried to change things. For you who point to nTelos and the Hall of Fame, remember these incumbents didn't vote for these, but Moody, Randall and Whitehurst did.
VOTE THEM ALL OUT!
The current members of our city government have repeatedly shown that they DO NOT have its citizens best interests at heart. The traffic circle was a waste of money- to this day I can't understand what purpose it serves. Now they want to spend $11 million on infrastructure improvements at the Holiday Inn site to that would ultimately benefit the developer? Let the developer pay for any improvements! Stop hiring consultants and do the job you were put in office to do! All you need to do is go to a council meeting or watch one on TV and you can see the lack of interest in the speakers concerns all over the council members faces. Real estate taxes are out of control but all anyone does is talk, talk, talk. I for one am tired of all the talk and will NOT be voting for any incumbents this election and urge my fellow citizens to do the same!
Incumbents
Way to go Martha Ann and Charles!!!!