Former Vice Mayor Griffin will be interim mayor of Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH

Bernard D. Griffin Sr. became the city's mayor Tuesday to loud applause, ending a two-week search for a temporary successor to James Holley.

Griffin, a former vice mayor whose last term ended in 2004, was selected by a 5-1 council vote and immediately sworn in. He then faced a large audience that had gathered for the night's council meeting and said he would try his hardest over the next three months to unify residents.

"The city of Portsmouth has some healing to do, and I think a great deal of that healing needs to start with the City Council and permeate out into the community," he said.

Griffin will serve until a special election on Nov. 2. The winner of that race will serve the rest of Holley's term, which runs until June 30, 2012.

The other six members of the c ouncil considered four finalists for the interim post: Vice Mayor Charles B. Whitehurst Sr., Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas, Bishop Curtis E. Edmonds Sr., and Griffin.

The decision was reached in a closed-door discussion Monday night. Whitehurst and Psimas apparently couldn't reach the majority to take the appointment.

Both voted for Griffin on Tuesday, and afterward they looked happy with the choice.

"He's the right person for the right time," Whitehurst said.

The crowd in the council chambers was racially mixed and cheered heartily for Griffin. He received a standing ovation after he was voted in, and another after his oath.

Councilman Paige Cherry cast the sole vote against Griffin. Before the vote he explained that he was supporting Edmonds, although he still felt that Griffin would do an "outstanding job."

"I, myself, was looking for a fresh face, for a proven leader, a communicator who could bring a healing effect to this council as well as to the city at large, and, for me, that person was Bishop Edmonds," Cherry said.

Holley was recalled by a vote of 10,723 to 5,154 after a nearly year long campaign by residents to force the ballot question through a signature drive. Many, including council members, expressed worries that the episode would harm race relations in the city.

Griffin, a retired teacher, invoked Holley's name in his short speech following the appointment, calling him an icon and a mentor.

Later in the meeting, after Griffin took the mayor's seat to preside over the rest of the agenda, a speaker neared the end of her time limit to talk on a subject.

Griffin drew laughs by playfully imitating a line Holley often used in such a situation: "Excuse me, but your time is up."

After the meeting, Griffin said he would work feverishly over the next three months to mend relations in Portsmouth. Part of that, it seems, will involve honoring Holley's legacy.

"I would hate to see the positive things he did for this city totally eroded," Griffin said.

Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com