State Sen. Lucas donates $10,000 to Portsmouth council candidate

Nine months before Portsmouth City Council hopefuls were officially required to declare their candidacy, state Sen. Louise Lucas wrote Charles D. Whitehurst Sr. a $10,000 check.

Nearly a third of the former Portsmouth council member's campaign to regain a seat this summer has been financed by Lucas - who is seeking millions from the city to build a hotel and conference center.

Whitehurst is one of at least 600 investors who has helped finance Lucas' project. He said he gave $2,500.

Lucas' donation to Whitehurst dwarfs the next closest contribution to any other candidate in Portsmouth's, Norfolk's and Chesapeake's May 6 elections.

"She said she wanted to make sure that I won," Whitehurst said recently.

An examination of campaign finance filings in the council races reflect that the largest donations came from the business community, including developers, attorneys and real estate agents. However, fundraising is down significantly when compared with contributions made in the 2006 local elections.

The latest round of campaign reports were filed April 28.

In December, Lucas asked Portsmouth council members in a closed-door session for $13.5 million in cash and tax breaks to help finance a $65 million conference center

and hotel in the city's new Victory Village business park. It would be the city's first development financed and run by the black community. As of December, Lucas had raised about $1.8 million.

Lucas donated the $10,000 to Whitehurst on July 29, according to campaign reports. He has raised $28,518 in donations and in-kind contributions since 2007.

Lucas said Wednesday she was "incensed" at any implication that she donated to Whitehurst so he could get elected and vote for her project. The council must vote on the project before it can be built. Lucas said she thinks it would be appropriate for Whitehurst to vote after he consults with the city attorney. Vice Mayor Marlene Randall's husband also invested $2,000 in the proposed development, she said.

Lucas said she has never tried to "bribe" anybody or made a contribution to a council candidate before.

"Two thousand dollars? How much of an investment is that?" she said about Whitehurst's contribution.

She said she supports Whitehurst because he is responsive to residents. Her donation came from her personal money, she said.

Whitehurst said if he is elected, he plans to seek the advice of the city attorney before voting on the project.

"I want everything to be on the up and up," he said.

The question arose at a candidates' forum Wednesday night. Whitehurst addressed the donation and said he would recuse himself from voting on the project.

Candidates Elizabeth Psimas and Paige Cherry each said that Lucas has endorsed them but has not given them money. Cherry said both he and his wife have also invested in the project. But he said public safety employees, schools, and neighborhood improvements should be financed before the city provides money to any development and that each proposal should be examined on its merits.

Despite Lucas' donation to Whitehurst's campaign, Psimas has raised the most in Portsmouth - $37,509. The money is a little more than half of what the top council fundraiser in the 2006 elections collected.

That year, challenger Doug Smith, who won a seat, raised $77,704 - the most ever for a Portsmouth council election.

In Norfolk, the incumbents maintained their financial advantages over challengers. Still, their fundraising is far less than what incumbents raised in 2006. Then, Mayor Paul Fraim raised about $274,000. Councilman Randy Wright raised about $135,000.

In Superward 6, which covers the western and northern part of the city, incumbent Barclay C. Winn raised $35,985 from April 1-15. His challenger, Jack Stiles, is not raising money and has pledged to spend no more than $1,000 of his own money.

Winn's largest contributions of $2,500 each came from Stephen B. Ballard, who runs a Virginia Beach construction company, and Sheppard Miller III, who chairs the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority's board of commissioners.

In Superward 7, which includes the southern and central parts of the city, Councilwoman Daun S. Hester raised $13,424. Challenger Dwight D. McDowell has collected about $2,405.

In Chesapeake, spending on the mayoral race is down from what at least one candidate raised in 2004. That year, Dalton Edge, who won, raised more than $100,000. In 2006, the most raised in the council race was about $42,000. That is on par with this year's leading fundraiser, Councilman C.E. "Cliff" Hayes Jr., who has collected about $43,215, campaign records show.

Councilman Alan Krasnoff, the leading fundraiser in the mayoral race, has accepted at least $17,000 from real estate and development groups. One of his largest contributors has been James C. Archbell III. He and his companies have given Krasnoff's campaign at least $6,000, records show.

Councilwoman Rebecca Adams, Krasnoff's only competitor in the mayoral race, has also collected more than $11,000 from real estate and development professionals. Hayes has received at least $17,875 from similar groups.

Another top fundraiser is Rodney Foster, who has collected at least $19,850 from contractors and real estate professionals.

Staff writers Harry Minium and Mike Saewitz contributed to this report.

Jen McCaffery, (757) 446-2627, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com