Winn's work worthy of another 4 years

The political season in Norfolk is a quiet one this year, pitting City Council's two superward representatives against candidates ill-prepared for the task.

Incumbent Barclay C. Winn has brought a sensible and sober approach to city government for eight years. He has been a worthy champion for a fairer tax system, for downtown redevelopment, and for Wards Corner and other city neighborhoods.

Winn has advocated cuts in the property tax rate, but he is no arm-waving ideologue. He was instrumental in helping change a city assessment system that has grown out of whack. He was behind a tax deferral program unique in the commonwealth, and got the city to change its assessment notices, essentially to encourage appeals.

Winn has been asking hard questions about why commercial assessments haven't kept pace with soaring residential real estate values and what can be done about it. That disparity, over the past few years, has essentially shifted a heavier portion of the tax burden onto homeowners. In other words, where other politicians talk about taxes, Winn digs into the system and figures out how to make it more responsive.

If Wards Corner has not been transformed by the series of changes fostered by Winn and his allies, it has been changed in dozens of little ways over years, one storefront, one apartment complex, one piece of infrastructure at a time.

He has been a strenuous supporter of Norfolk's downtown revitalization, although not a blind one, and has brought smart business sense to the council's work. Winn has earned re-election.

For his superward compatriot on City Council, Daun Hester, the last four years have been considerably less productive. Hester was named vice-mayor by her colleagues and then ousted, has cast a series of dubious votes, and exhibited at least one troubling ethical lapse.

When she threw her support to her friend Alphonso Albert for a high-profile city job, her colleagues were unaware that he was once a violent felon before turning his life around. The result was an unnecessarily polarizing embarrassment for everyone, including Albert, who deserved better.

Hester seems, even after so many years in office, insensitive to the obvious potential conflicts of representing a company trying to do business with the Norfolk Public Schools.

She lost the confidence of her colleagues on City Council, and her position as vice-mayor, after trying to scuttle the long-delayed plan for the direct election of mayor, something citizens had demanded for years.

Unfortunately, Hester's opponent, Dwight McDowell, has exhibited only the most cursory understanding of the issues a councilman would face. His learning curve would be steep indeed.

Hester's knowledge of city affairs is both deep and wide. Her dedication to the well-being of the citizens she represents is undoubtable.

This page has recommended Hester before. It is a testament to her missteps and misjudgments that we cannot endorse her re-election over a candidate to whom she exhibits superior ability.