Will Sessoms launches Beach mayoral campaign with party

Thanks for the website address. Sessoms' Q & A on mass transit was telling:

1. The former HRT Commissioner never mentioned buses, even though they'd continue to be the workhorses even with light rail.

2. He wants to build light rail in two phases, not the one phase in HB 6028.

A sorely lacking answer.

Will Sessoms has been a long time advocate for Virginia Beach and is by far the best canidate for the job. He has my support and if you took the time to see was he stands for he would have yours too.

Meyera has done a fine job as mayor for the past twenty years, but IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE. Will Sessoms is from Virginia Beach and sees the potential we have in this wonderful city. Vote Sessoms 2008!

As others have pointed out, Will Sessoms' record is one of tax increases and misuse of our tax dollars to support corporate welfare and speculative development. It is no surprise that Mike Barrett supports Will Sessoms. John Moss has a hisotry of standing up for reducing city spending, a better budgeting process, improving the qulaity of our city's neighborhoods, and working to bring greater balance to the ratio of taxes paid by the commercial sector (too low) when compared to the city's home owners (too high). I feel Mayor Oberndorf has represented our city well during her many years as our Mayor. Sadly, she has bought into the "regional agenda" and has lost her ability to stand up for the citizens of our city. Her speeches reveal that she believe she has loyality to a "region" and not her own city's residents. John Moss understands the differnce between regional cooperation and collaboration, and the use of regionalism as a form of wealth redistribution. Will and Meyera support the regional agenda.

If you're concerned about the real estate tax burden on home owners and having that money spent on the concrete jungle at Town Center, then Sessoms is a very bad choice for you. Sessoms has a prior record that shows little compassion for the taxpayer. His campaign donors shown on VPAP is quite a nice listing of developers and heavy construction companies. Sessoms is a false choice who will only ratchet up over-devlopment and traffic problems.

John Moss is a founder and current chairman of the Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance. Moss and the VBTA have a clear record also. A record of continually organizing challenges to tax rates that city council and city manager Spore foist upon everyone. After all, they have a bridge to Pembroke Mall to build with YOUR money! Sessoms and Oberndorf represent the status quo. They'll tax you and your employer to fund their designs. Do Va. Beach a favor and give

What an incredible shame that the anti tax zealots in this community as represented by the present and former members of the VBTA, fail to acknowledge that the best ancedote to high real estate taxes is sustainable growth in the tax base. Will Sessoms has the best skill set in the city to distinguish between those projects that cost and those that add value to the city. Further, he has the patience and the knowledge to put coalitions together to garner the votes necessary to move forward. Those who have seen this city and this council drift along, unable to seize the initiative, watching as other cities make the hard choices, yearn for a Mayor with the gumption to seize the moment and the direction. Ironically, if this city were to decide to simply cut, cut, cut, and to stop even the modest growth we now enjoy, there is great potential to damage the tax base, and most importantly, devalue the assets in this city that produce the most tax revenue.

he will have my vote i have lived here in va beach for 40 yrs now and will be glad to see the oberndorf legacy come to an end , taxpayers are tired of paying for big business follies , taxpayers are second class citizens when it comes to big business the oberndorf policy has always reflected this , the oceanfront is not taxpayer and homeowner friendly , they cater to business , somewhere along the way the oberndorf kingdom forgot to include its taxpayers in the oberndorf plan , maybe we can dethrone her before she covers the whole city in concrete and steel ,

Roger laughs all the way to the voting booth when he sees more than one candidate filing against his wife......

With more than one candidate against her, the votes split and she's in......

This year especially, with two "high profile" challengers she'll be a lock.....

Meyera the best choice-NEVER!! I want better, not go backwards! It wont matter because we have four people running, so she will ruin (rule) the city for four more years!! If anyone really wants a change, then we need ONE could person to run against her. She is so clueless and only cares about her rich friends, and making sure they make more money! I never understood how she stayed for 20 years, she cant even take the heat when attacked on issues. Her husband comes in and saves her, so who is Mayor??

I attended Will Sessom's announcement last night and I am sorely disappointed in the Pilot's thin coverage buried deep on its web page. Sessoms outlined his specific policy positions on a wide range of issues last night yet the Pilot barely gave any mention on the candidate's positions and proposals. How can voters make an informed decision when the Pilot doesn't report the important facts?

I was thrilled to hear Sessom's specific policy positions. He does offer a new vision for the City of Virginia Beach. He is a change candidate. I suggest voters give Will Sessoms a fresh look. You'll like what you see.

Go to http://www.sessomsmayor.com for more informaiton.

I have known Will Sessoms for many years and find him to be a honest and upright man who wants what is best for Virginia Beach. In his speach last night he stated he wants to reduce the tax burden on the home owners as well as control development to protect the open areas of the city. I have nothing against our mayor, but she has not been effective as a leader for some time now. It is time for a change and Will is the best man for doing this. He has my support.

Regrettably, the citizens of VB are not left with much choice in the Mayoral race, so I'd have to reluctantly agree with William that Meyera is the choice.
While she's done a lot for the City, I still think there should be term limits to allow "new" and "fresh" leadership in our ever changing City.

Sadly, not one of the tired slate of candidates for Mayor offers a "better" vision of that change....

In rereading Henry's comment, I see that he wasn't calling Mr. Bailey a VBTA'er, but rather stating that he thought a VBTA'er would catch the comment first.

Like Miss Emily Litella (Gilda Radner of Saturday Night Live) used to say: "Nevermind."

Why would Henry call Mr. Bailey a VBTA supporter? Didn’t Mr. Bailey say that Meyera was the best choice for mayor of VB?

I thought John Moss was very closely aligned with the VBTA, and if so, wouldn’t John Moss be the VBTA’s preferred choice for mayor of VB?

Would be the first to catch that McCain quote. I saw it late night last night and about died. William is right: the real estate tax burden went up each and every year that Sessoms served as Vice Mayor.

The other thing that struck me was that the party was at The Upper Deck. For those who know Virginia Beach politics, The Upper Deck is THE place for status quo political parties. For all of Sessoms' rhetoric about change, he's really about more of the same.

Finally, I wish The Pilot had elaborated on what he said about Transportation. Given that Sessoms is a former HRT Commissioner, I hope he comes out for light rail and the requisite increase in bus service.

Huh??? Obviously McCain’s Son hasn’t looked at Sessoms record of raising local property taxes every year he was on city council. Like father like Son, they just don’t get the record or facts straight. Sessoms spent every taxpayer dime funding the failed Sportsplex and the new convention center, 31 St Hilton hotel and other oceanfront million dollar projects while encroaching on NAS Oceana for a dozen years before running away from the voters in fear in 2002. Sessoms created BRAC’s issue in VB. Plus my Re-tax rate never went down while Sessoms was on council.

He gets it alright… What a joke. Sessoms wants your tax dollars for more tourists, oceanfront and private business friend’s development. If you live in VB, Sessoms is not your friend. Mayor Oberndorf has spent six years cleaning up his and the three amigos mess and she remains the best choice for VB.