Status quo prevails in local elections

RESIDENTS IN the region get all riled up if they believe they're being overtaxed, their neighborhoods aren't safe or City Hall is spending too much on frivolous projects. But the results of Tuesday's elections in three cities suggest, with few exceptions, that most voters like things the way they are on local city councils and school boards.

Voters rewarded candidates who promised they'd keep property taxes in check and budgets free of waste. Familiar faces bested new candidates with innovative ideas. Party machines proved their mettle. Some personal foibles were forgiven; others weren't.

Given the tough national economy, voters want their cities to maintain sound municipal services, but they don't want to lose their houses in the bargain. The next four years will test whether the financial promises made leading up to Election Day can be kept.

Alan Krasnoff won the mayor's race in Chesapeake over Rebecca Adams, in part, with a pledge to "get our financial house in order." The two incumbent council members had relatively similar platforms but different styles. Krasnoff chose to go negative on the campaign trail and in mailings to voters. Now, as the leader of the council, he will face challenges to reach consensus on issues. Because he's been on the losing side of several key votes, it could be a tough chore.

Adams, meanwhile, might have witnessed the end of her council career. It was her second unsuccessful bid for the mayor's chair in the past four years. In a replay of 2004, she sacrificed the final two years of her council term to run for the seat vacated by a retiring mayor.

The city's Republican Party also flexed its collective muscle once again. It helped send Krasnoff; incumbent Patricia Willis; novice Rick West, an acolyte of Rep. Randy Forbes; and former council member Debbie Ritter to City Council. Suzy Kelly, another candidate endorsed by the GOP, barely lost to Vice Mayor Dwight Parker, a Democrat, for the final seat. Republican-turned-Democrat Cliff Hayes led the council in votes.

On the School Board, all three incumbents running for office won. Newcomer Tina Pullen claimed the fourth seat.

Likewise, in Portsmouth, voters indicated they're generally satisfied with the city's progress of the past four years - with a couple of twists.

City Council members Elizabeth Psimas and Steve Heretick, who made a special cause of teachers' salaries and initiated other major changes in their first term, were re-elected, as were three of the four School Board members on the ballot.

But Mayor James Holley, long considered invulnerable and "mayor for life," defeated grass-roots activist Martha Ann Creecy by only 282 votes. It appears residents want more than the ceremonial mayor that Holley has become.

In the other big news of the night, former Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. regained his seat, displacing one-term incumbent Ray Smith. Although Whitehurst is part of the old guard at City Hall, he would do well to reflect on Holley's narrow victory and the overall change in tone and direction at City Hall in recent years.

Whitehurst will be watched closely on his involvement with state Sen. Louise Lucas' economic development project in the city. Lucas, who's seeking a city subsidy for her multimillion-dollar project, contributed $10,000 to Whitehurst's campaign.

Both the Norfolk City Council members on the ballot won re-election handily.

This doesn't mean challengers can't win. But they have to spell out their differences, promote their business or community experience, and campaign tirelessly.

Tuesday's contests showed that the shouts for change often become whimpers on Election Day.