Recall James Holley

Imagine Portsmouth with a mayor who is an engaged and effective advocate for the city in regional discussions about transportation and other issues vital to the city's rebirth.

Picture Portsmouth with a mayor who can make a succinct, compelling case to corporate leaders to establish a presence in the city.

Think of a Portsmouth with a mayor who is fully focused on addressing its many chronic problems, including youth violence and neighborhood decay.

Sadly, the city has lacked such a mayor in recent years.

Under James W. Holley III, the mayor's office has been reduced to a ceremonial post. Worse, it's deteriorated into a distraction.

On Tuesday, voters will go to the polls to decide whether to recall Holley. It's not a pleasant task, but the time has come. The city can no longer afford to leave him in a position of leadership.

The recall effort began shortly after City Council members, in a polite and respectful resolution, asked their 83-year-old colleague to retire.

Council members had observed months of erratic behavior by the mayor, but they were finally moved to act when a city employee filed a complaint alleging that Holley had verbally abused her and ordered her to perform personal chores on city time.

By now, everyone in Portsmouth knows the long list of chores. The tummy tuck T-shirts. The "turkey neck" cream. The cancellation of his Playboy subscription. The sweepstake entries. The calls to his financial advisers.

On the night the council asked him to step down, Holley delivered a rambling and decidedly unapologetic "apology" for his behavior. Subsequently, he offered the astounding defense that everything he did was city business. Voters were expected to believe that if his aide entered sweepstakes for him, it freed up more time for him to look out for the city's interests

But Holley has drifted a long, long way from looking out for Portsmouth.

The mayor was a civil rights pioneer in Hampton Roads and Virginia, a leader in the courageous battle to topple a corrupt and deeply entrenched power structure infested with white supremacists.

This is his legacy.

But, regrettably, Holley exhibits precious little leadership today. He reads proclamations and cuts ribbons. And, as The Pilot's Dave Forster chronicled in a recent story, Holley displays confusion over basic facts, a change in behavior that even his allies concede.

More worrisome, the mayor's behavior and judgment - evident in his defense of how he treated his aide - reflect poorly on the city and its potential.

Holley's well-intentioned defenders contend that he should be allowed to serve out the remaining 18 months of his term, that no harm can come of letting him retire on his own terms.

The impulse is understandable. But it seriously underestimates the city's need for strong leadership, for a mayor who can be relied upon to conduct the city's business in a professional manner, to present the best possible image of the city, to look out for "the Portsmouth family."

There was a time when James Holley demanded city leaders meet exactly those expectations.

On Tuesday, voters should take the difficult but important step toward restoring those standards.