The Virginian-Pilot
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This year, Republican Harvey Bryant, the commonwealth's attorney, faces his first challenger in a general election. An independent, Mark C. Hardman, hopes to take over as chief prosecutor of the state's most populous city.
The candidates have not debated. In fact, they've met just once, briefly, on Sept. 15, when each filed a campaign finance report in the city registrar's office. Instead, Hardman, 28, has spread his message for change on Facebook and a pair of blogs. Bryant, 63, has taken to Facebook, Twitter and a personal Web site.
The Internet provides the only practical space for Hardman to promote himself. In campaign finance reports filed through Thursday, he counted one financial supporter besides himself: campaign manager George Mendelson, who gave $1,300.
Hardman contributed about $1,600. He also has paid $450 in fines to the electoral board for assorted campaign violations.
Beating Bryant, he acknowledged, is a long shot.
"I am pissing in the wind without political or financial support," he said.
Hardman prosecuted about seven felony cases - two before a jury - in five months before he was fired in March from the Portsmouth commonwealth's attorney's office.
He has maintained that he was dismissed after announcing plans to seek office in Virginia Beach. He is considering suing to win his Portsmouth job back if his election bid fails, he said.
On Facebook and his blogs, Hardman has assailed Bryant on several issues, including an ethics complaint against Bryant that was dismissed two years ago. He also has criticized Bryant's handling of cases.
Bryant has dismissed the attacks, describing Hardman as "someone with almost no experience in criminal law."
He brushed aside Hardman's suggestions that one of his recent Twitter messages proved Bryant had colluded with Hardman's former boss, Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle Mobley. In the message, Bryant wrote that he was "back from the National FOP convention. Got some good campaign intell (sic) from some Portsmouth officers there!"
The information, Bryant told The Virginian-Pilot, was from Portsmouth police officers and related to Hardman's courtroom conduct and a ticket he received for reckless driving last fall. Court records show the charge was dismissed.
Bryant has raised about $71,900 this election cycle and, besides running an Internet campaign, has poured money into traditional advertising. TV and radio ads will air this month, he said.
He touts his experience as a defense attorney, federal prosecutor and prosecutor in Norfolk. In 2000, he was appointed Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney. He ran unopposed in a special election later that year, and again in the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
More than 100 attorneys have endorsed him, and this summer, he received the Robert F. Horan Jr. Outstanding Service Award from the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys.
The Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney oversees an office of nearly 40 prosecutors handling more than 15,000 cases a year.
Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com
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This article pretty well sums it up
We currently have someone in place who knows how the system works, and Jimmy Junior comes along thinking he can throw out some loaded statements and do the whole Obama "Change" campaign to get elected. I can't believe Hardman spent some of his own money on his worthless campaign. He should have spent that money on a Wii, because I have a feeling he'll have a lot of free time to fill starting next month.
irony indeed
bryant should learn how to spell his insults, but hardman should be smart enough to not have as his regular facebook profile picture a shot of him and his girlfriend(?) wherein he looks half drunk. Do UVA law grads like to shoot themselves in the foot? He may also want to try not having quotes in the paper where he discusses bodily functions. Classy.
Let's not forget
...why Hardman is running...
He worked that short time in the Portsmouth CA's office, saw how incredibly corrupt it is (read his blogs for details) and decided he had to do something about it. He decided to run against Bryant because he had heard and seen how unethical Bryant could be. To him Bryant seemed like the easier, more important target.
Anyone who could see the corruption of our legal system first hand and not do something about it is not someone we want prosecuting cases. To me, that brings into question the honor and integrity of everyone working in the Portsmouth and Virginia Beach CA offices. For someone to witness miscarriages of justice and not speak up for fear of political retaliation is the epitome of cowardice.
Hardman is doing the right thing, bringing attention to the serious problems with our local CA's. Read his blogs, learn something, try to make a change. That is why Hardman is running; as far as I'm concerned he's already won in that regard.
to the point...
Fired, fined for election violations, little to no experiance. No thanks.
GOB network in no danger....
Regrettably, this will serve as NO challenge to the "good ole boy" surroundings which are commonplace in Virginia Beach, in the case of the constitutional offices....
No need to even cover this one.....
It's not really a test
How can it be called a test when you're not running amongst your peers? Even if there are folks out there that may not agree with Bryant, surely they recognize the peril of electing someone like Hardman. Someone that has nothing to stand on other than mud slinging. Someone that accused their former boss, and elected official, of engaging in indecent acts at the Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Office no less. Someone that chose to visit other countries during his campaign. In the most populous city in Virginia, we need a CA that know's what they're doing and can get the job done.