Elections: Candidates for Elizabeth City council

1ST WARD

(Two seats open)

Name Jean Baker (incumbent)

Age 65

Personal Widow

Education High school, certifications in real estate

Employment Real estate agent

Political experience Eight years on City Council

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it  Infrastructure. Water and sewer lines, streets and sidewalks have been ignored for years. Money must be set aside annually toward repairs and replacement. City should seek grant funding.

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Name Betty Meggs (incumbent)

Age 75

Personal Widow with two grown children

Education Bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University

Employment Retired schoolteacher

Political experience Four years on City Council. Chairwoman of the local Democratic Party.

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Good jobs. Development of new aviation park must remain at the forefront, including construction of the aviation schools proposed for both Elizabeth City State University and College of the Albemarle.

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Name Thomas “Tom” Baker

Age 62

Personal Married with five grown children

Education Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University

Employment Retired Navy captain, 100 percent disabled veteran of Vietnam War

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Opposes any new rate increases. Look for ways to produce alternatives

such as wind and solar power. Electric-fund revenues should not be transferred to the general fund.

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Name Patricia “Pat” Franzese

Age 66

Personal Married with a grown daughter

Education Bachelor of Arts from the University of Richmond

Employment Owner, broker of Butterfly Real Estate

Political experience Historic Preservation Commission in Elizabeth City, Community Relations Commission for Pasquotank County and Elizabeth City

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Stop passing on rate increases to city customers who can least afford it. Search for alternatives that result in energy cost savings.

2ND WARD

(Two seats open)

Name Anita Hummer (incumbent)

Age 75

Personal Married with two grown children and two grown stepchildren

Education High school. Graduate of two-year business school.

Employment Retired civil service after working at the naval hospital in Portsmouth

Political experience 12 total years on City Council. Mayor pro-tem for two terms. Founder of Elizabeth City’s first community watch group.

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Infrastructure. Many water and sewer lines need replacing. Find grants to help fund infrastructure replacement.

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Name Tony Stimatz (incumbent)

Age 58

Personal Married with one grown son

Education Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Master’s degree in operations science and statistics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Employment Retired Coast Guard captain. Currently working as commercial property manager.

Political experience Four years on City Council

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Effective management of city finances. The city must follow accepted best-business practices and prevent fraud against the city and the public.

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Name Selma White-Kyles

Age 59

Personal Single with four grown children

Education Associate degree in early childhood education

Employment Retired from the Army. Owner of Stella’s convenience store.

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Youths. Establish good programs for youths.

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Name Allison Wills

Age 38

Personal Married with three children

Education High school

Employment Food Bank of the Albemarle

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Stop transfer of $1.2 million from electric revenues to general fund. High electric rates should not subsidize city budget. City buildings should get an energy-efficiency audit. Be aggressive with grants to better weatherize older homes. Landlords could get incentives for making homes more energy efficient.

3RD WARD

(Two seats open)

Incumbent Daniel Evans is not running for re-election

Name Rickey King (incumbent)

Age 54

Personal Married with four grown children

Education Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Elizabeth City State University

Employment Retired from the Elizabeth City Police Department

Political experience Four years on City Council

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Find ways to lower the rate and help less fortunate pay utility bills.

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Name Michael Brooks

Age 52

Personal Married with three grown sons

Education Bachelor’s degree in theology from Mid-Atlantic Christian University

Employment Disabled veteran

Political experience Two years on City Council

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Must find a way to stabilize the rates. Set aside money that could be used to offset electric rate increases. At least some rate hikes could be absorbed by the city.

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Name Milford Creecy

Age 68

Personal Married with three grown children

Education High school

Employment Retired after 38 years with the Ford plant

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Opposes transfer of $1.2 million from electric fund to general fund. Coordinate utility bills better with when retirement checks arrive.

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Name Kem Spence

Age 38

Personal Married with two daughters

Education High school

Employment Department of Corrections. Named Supervisor of the Year at Pasquotank Correctional Institut ion .

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Youths. Youths need more constructive things to do. Keep young teens out of trouble, and other issues such as crime can be reduced. Programs such as Big Brother and Big Sister could be started in Elizabeth City. The city could sponsor parenting classes using volunteers.

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Name Dennis B. Stallings

Age 27

Personal Married with two daughters

Education High school

Employment Self-employed in bail bonding

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Youths. A priority would be to find a building where the Boys and Girls Club could meet. Children are the future.

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4TH WARD

(Two seats open)

Incumbent Kirk Rivers is not running for re-election

Name Volanda C. Watts (incumbent)

Age 46

Personal Married with two children

Education Bachelor’s degree in music from Elizabeth City State University. Master’s degree in divinity from International School of Seminary.

Employment Homemaker

Political experience Two years on City Council

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Some rate increases could be absorbed. Tax increases may be necessary to hold electric rates down. Find ways to reduce $1.2 million transfer from electric department to general fund.

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Name Lennard Bartlett Sr.

Age 66

Personal Married with three adult children

Education Bachelor’s degree in social science from Elizabeth City State University. Certified as nuclear science instructor at shipyard.

Employment Retired from the Newport News shipyard. Retired from the North Carolina National Guard.

Political experience None

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Gangs. Law enforcement, the city and churches could bring in experts in gang activity to educate the public. Also, good role models could speak in the schools. Many homes of gang members do not have good father figures.

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Name Lena Hill-Lawrence

Age 64

Personal Married with three grown children

Education Bachelor of Arts in religion and philosophy from Eastern Nazarene College. Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School.

Employment Senior pastor of New Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. Former personnel officer for Proctor & Gamble and for Johnson & Johnson. Former director of a nonprofit in Boston.

Political experience Worked on political campaigns for Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Edward Kennedy

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Economy. Improve infrastructure to help attract more industries with high wages. Supports expansion of new aviation park and would support a proposed downtown conference center.

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Name Johnnie Walton

Age 61

Personal Married with five grown children

Education Bachelor’s degree in physical education, health and biology from Elizabeth City State University

Employment Teacher at H.L. Trigg Elementary School

Political experience Four years on City Council

Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Should try to get an attorney with experience and ability to renegotiate the long-term contract with ElectriCities.