The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
Only three of the four candidates being considered for interim mayor will be present when the City Council publicly interviews them tonight.
The scheduling conflict with Bishop Curtis E. Edmonds Sr. surfaced last week as council members decided to make their appointment process more open. They are choosing someone to temporarily succeed former Mayor James Holley, who was recalled July 13, until a special election Nov. 2.
Edmonds, the pastor at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, is on a cruise and will not be able to attend tonight's session, Vice Mayor Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. said. The other three candidates - Whitehurst, Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas and former Vice Mayor Bernard Griffin - will take questions from the four remaining council members beginning at 7 p.m. in council chambers.
Only the four members of council who are not seeking the appointment will be asking the questions. Psimas and Whitehurst will rejoin the group when it meets in closed session to discuss its pick.
The six council members plan to take a public vote at the end of their council meeting Tuesday.
The council met for 2-1/2 hours in a closed meeting the day after Holley was recalled to discuss how they would choose a replacement. Whitehurst read a statement afterward saying the group would make no public comment on the appointment until after it was made.
Several council members began to express a desire last week to make the selection process more open, however. Whitehurst conducted another poll, and five of the six members said they wanted to announce the finalists and to interview them in public.
Only the newest council member, Paige Cherry, who was elected in May, continued to advocate for a closed process. The Virginia Beach and Norfolk councils both publicly interviewed candidates when they made recent appointments to fill vacancies.
Cherry said Friday that he was only trying to stick with what the group had decided in its first closed meeting.
"The process being public, that's fine with me," he said. "I just didn't get the flip-flopping."
Edmonds will still be considered for the appointment although he can't make the interview. It was not possible to move up the session before he left because of scheduling conflicts among other members of council.
Cherry asked whether Edmonds could participate by phone, but that was not arranged. Whitehurst said he was under the impression that doing so would have incurred a substantial expense to the city.
Cherry said Friday that Edmonds could have paid for the cost by calling in. Whitehurst said Cherry did not relay that option to him.
Residents can attend the interviews in person or watch when they are rebroadcast on Portsmouth Channel 48.
Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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Don't be doublecrossed by Psimas
Fellow women voters - don’t be bamboozled. Her issues are not really yours. They are self-serving, good ole boy interests.
African-American voters, you already know she could never win a proper election where she would need a majority of your votes to prevail. She is your worst nightmare. Racial healing will be impossible with Queen Elizabeth!
Psimas supporters, she will double-cross you - again.
Crowning Queen Elizabeth will guarantee this city’s shameful legacy of double-dealing good ole boy, crony-serving, arrogant, but incompetent “leaders." Those good folks who have brought you the region’s highest taxes, worst schools, highest crime and a historic district most likely to be completely underwater – soon.
Crowning Queen Elizabeth is the worst choice you could make.
VERY well said!
VERY well said!
I guess
some people don't have very long memories. When the rest of the city council was trying to furlough the civilian employees to save money AGAIN, Ms. Psimas was the only voice I heard in the meeting that said "no". She stood up for us and kept us working. I have not forgotten that fact and I think the rest of the civilian workers should remember it as well. If she didn't care about us, she would not have argued for us.
Don't be fooled, Unsworn.
Don't be fooled, Unsworn. Psimas cares about Psmias.
Am I missing something here?
Who really cares who assumes the job for three months? All this coverage for nothing. A trained chimpanzee could do just as good a job as any of these people. What really matters is the November election, which will be the same four people plus hopefully the chimpanzee! me, I'll vote for the chimp!
2 cents
You hit the nail square on the head. Kudos!!
WRONG !
See ? These people WANT the Job, they crave it like an addict NEEDS drugs !
Go find someone who's qualified and HATES the Idea of Public Office and ASSIGN the Mayors Title (governor,president, etc, etc, etc) to them for a period of 4 years and then.........
....do it again.
New Idea
It's only for 90 days. But instead of the same ole tired blood, I think you Portsmouth folks should bring in that guy they kicked out of The Oak Ridge Boys...and you would then have Mayor OomPapaMauMau in the driver's seat for a while. Can't hurt.
Temporary Portsmouth Mayor
Well now, I have read the article in this mornings paper,and I gotta tell ya, Portsmouth is in dire straits if they can't find anymore candidates then what they have. I was under the impression that the Vice Mayor would step in if the Mayor was gone,but apparently I was wrong. They said they would telecast the interviews on TV,but failed to mention what channel they would be shown on. It should be open to the public and rightly so,since we (the voters) have to go the polls in November to pick another mayor. I think that the mayor's office should have term limits,(one)that way we could have new blood every 4 years. We needs someone who will pull Portsmouth from the gutter of Hampton Roads, into a solid metropolitan area
which would bring businesses here to increase not only our tax base,but to attract tourists who spend money. I don't like being a satellite to Norfolk, and we should establish our own identity. Portsmouth needs excellent leadership to carry us forward into the 21st Century.
Vice Mayor
Vice Mayor is suppose to step up to the plate; P-E-R-I-O-D: it is only the 3 months anyway. Things I see w/this article is....Why closed doors? The Vice mayor SHOULD have been prepared BEFORE the final vote ousting w/the current Mayor. I will through a few stones of Questions for you to ask of these, potential TEMP Mayor. 1. Do you think Woodrow Wilson was a good role model to the citizens of America Verses Reagan? 2. If.....you, person that chooses to run for the Mayors chair in Nov., please express 3 things that you would do to improve the City of Portsmouth; You SHOULD hear these answers w/solutions. 1. TERM limits w/Chair; Including Mayor, V-Mayor & City Counsels. 2. LOWER YOUR Property TAXES (Portsmouth has the HIGHEST in all of Hampton Roads) 3. Open up more Citizen involvement programs w/Hope, Charity & Faith; Follow through w/these things w/your community & all in P Town will begin to see a POSITIVE change w/the community; Less dependancy on the "system & more giving from the people of P Town; positive productions". Improve the family foundation is HUGE for a productive step in the right direction.