The Virginian-Pilot
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PORTSMOUTH
The City Council announced four finalists Wednesday in its search for an interim mayor, and members plan to publicly interview them next week.
The candidates are Vice Mayor Charles B. White-hurst Sr., Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas, former Vice Mayor Bernard Griffin and Bishop Curtis E. Edmonds Sr.
Councilman Bill Moody Jr. announced the finalists after he and other council members discussed the selection process in a closed meeting. It was the council's second private discussion on the matter since voters ousted James Holley from the mayor's seat in a recall election on July 13.
Council members will appoint a successor to serve until a special election Nov. 2. The winner of the special election will serve the rest of Holley's term, which runs until June 30, 2012.
Last week, Whitehurst said council members decided unanimously to make no public comment on the appointment until their final public vote. His statement followed a 2-1/2 -hour private council meeting and did not mention public interviews or name any of the candidates.
In the week that followed, however, several council members, including Whitehurst and Psimas, said they wanted the process to be more transparent. The Virginia Beach and Norfolk city councils both recently filled vacancies after they publicly interviewed candidates.
Moody said Wednesday that he and the three other council members not seeking the office will interview the finalists at 7 p.m. Monday in council chambers. The session will be televised on Portsmouth Channel 48. The council expects to appoint the interim mayor by a vote at the end of its regular meeting Tuesd ay.
Whitehurst, a third-term councilman who was appointed vice mayor by a split council vote on July 1, said there has been "a clarion cry" from people in the community who think he should be mayor.
"And I serve people," he said.
Psimas, in her second term, said she would be the "working mayor" that residents want, someone who is respected regionally with Hampton Roads' leaders.
Griffin retired from council in 2004. He said Wednesday that he wished not to comment because he had not yet been invited to the public interviews. Edmonds is senior pastor at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church. A call to his home was not returned.
Whitehurst and Psimas would have to give up their council seat to take the appointment, triggering another appointment and special election to fill that vacancy.
Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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He Serves People?
My keyboard is now a mess because of the soda spit out when I read that remark. Charles Whitehurst has a track record of operating like a snake oil salesman, working only to serve himself. This is a man who has gone on record saying that the publically subsidized Sports Hall of Fame would put Portsmouth on the map, then came out and questioned public dollars when it seemed popular. The man who claimed he did not vote for any tax increase in 2002 when in truth the budget reflecting those increases was passed unanimously by Council. The man who claims all of our fees and taxes will go down when WalMart, Maersk, Ocean Marina and the rest come on line. Charles, open your eyes, They are on line, the people are still being taxed back to the stone ages. A Clarion Cry? No thanks Mr. Whitehurst, count me out. Clarion: (n) medievil brass instrument with a clear, shrill tone. Clear? Not you sir. Shrill? Much more becoming of your snake oil pitch.
Former Vice Mayor an Excellent Choice
During his time as Vice Mayor, Bernard Griffin was as close to a statesperson as any living politician can be. When he substituted for the absent Mayor Holley, Vice Mayor Griffin ran time-efficient meetings, did a minimum of grandstanding, and earned the regard of civic-minded people throughout the city. His steady hand would be particularly welcome in these unsettled times. I hope council has the good sense (aye, there's the rub) to select him for the position.
what I wouldn't
Give to be a fly on the wall where all this wheeling and dealing is taking place. I'd love to see Portsmouth start with a clean slate. I guess we'll have to do it the old fashion way. One election at a time.
Troubled
How does this list accomplish Portsmouth's need to be progressive and business oriented? As far as I can tell, it is another example of backward thinking. Heck with the status quo, and heck with healing; Portsmouth needs to find a way to give up being a welfare and bureaucratic entitlement city. Fat chance.
Lets have a lottery
Lets have a lottery for the position of Mayor. We would have a better chance of picking someone who has some integrity and is not in a developer or lawyer's back pocket.
Portsmouth Mayor
You have got to be kidding me!! "Election" of any one of those four puts us right back where we started! Do not spend my tax dollars on special elections to fill vacant seats!
Where the heck did Griffin and Edmonds come from? If they wanted to be mayor they should have run in the last election. You should look to the most recent candidate for mayor, who lost by less than 200 votes, and offer the job.
Another embarassment for Portsmouth...
I agree with you but we
I agree with you but we don't have a choice in this. The Council has all the input with this one.
I'm torn
I'd like to see Charles Whitehurst appointed as Interim Mayor but would hate to see him lose his Council seat because of it.
I would NOT like to see Queen Elizabeth appointed the position of Interiim Mayor but WOULD like to see her lose her seat on Council because of it.
So, you see my predicament? I'm, indeed, 'torn'.
Is he okay?
Is Councilman Whitehurst well? He looks frail and sickly. I think we need some freshness. He looks older than Mayor Holley.
I don't know ......
I don't know if its in the city charter or state mandated to appoint a temporary mayor, but WHY can't the cities Vice Mayor, Charles B. Whitehurst, just assume the title of mayor?