Candidate Q&A: Stephen E. 'Steve' Heretick

What makes you the best candidate for City Council?

Vision – and commitment, experience and tenacity . Four years ago, Portsmouth lacked it. Today, through collective vision and hard work, the city has a team of dedicated leaders who have brought this city further than anyone dreamed possible. We’ve stabilized finances and raised bond ratings. We’ve nearly doubled our contributions to schools and kept good teachers . We’ve brought new schools and soon two new college campuses – and laid educational and technical foundations to help our children succeed. We’ve lowered crime. We’ve brought new life from blighted communities. We’ve lowered taxes. We’ve kept promises. We’re a community of choice in Hampton Roads.

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

Expanding our tax base through economic development to meet commitments to public safety officers, schools and neighborhoods – while providing tax cuts for seniors and working families. We require discipline to stay the course for building on what we’ve started.

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

Rebuilding neighborhoods. Soon, Portsmouth will have met critical commitments to schools and public safety officers, and our focus will be on neighborhood quality. We must address longstanding issues of redevelopment, eradication of blight , curbs, gutters and drainage.

Should Portsmouth lobby for a light rail crossing through the Midtown Tunnel? Why?

As more families choose to live, work and shop here, we must lay groundwork for transportation solutions to meet our needs. Transportation alternatives will facilitate community and economic development, while reducing tunnel congestion and transportation costs.

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

Portsmouth receives virtually nothing to offset increasing traffic imposed by port traffic, which will significantly increase as port expansions occur during the decade. The commonwealth must fund a meaningful percentage of port revenue to alleviate the growing transportation crisis.

What would you do to improve conditions in Portsmouth’s neighbor- hoods?

Enhancement of neighborhood quality lies at the core of efforts to improve and add new schools, make streets safer, replace blighted housing with affordable housing, and step up code enforcement. We have made our civic leagues full partners with City Council in addressing needs for future development, and in assessing our needs for utility and drainage infrastructure.