What makes you the best candidate for City Council?

If elected, I will be readily accessible to my constituents. I collect no paychecks from the School Board, the business community, the real estate community or any other special-interest group. I wish to form alliances with the average citizens of Chesapeake that desperately need a voice on our City Council to promote fairness for its residents.

What should be the city's top priority now, and how can it be achieved?

Chesapeake’s top priority should be to enhance the quality of life for its residents by keeping home ownership affordable, by changing the current flawed real estate and assessment tax policy that has caused so many to leave our city. In my opinion this can be accomplished by implementing a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) policy that will keep property taxes comparable with increases seen through employment and Social Security benefits.

What do you think will be the city's most pressing issue in 10 years, and how can the city prepare for it?

Our focus should be to reduce traffic on our roadways, by establishing a safe and reliable source of alternative transportation. Chesapeake must position itself for federal funding to offer residents alternative means of transportation and give residents tax incentives to use it.

How do you respond to complaints that city leaders put developers’ interests ahead of residents’ needs?

“Run the city for the people, not the developers,” has been my stance before City Council on many occasions. The rate of growth and development has outpaced our infra-structure. We must take astronger stance in negoti-ations with developers prior to planning commission review. It must be clear thattaxpayer funds will not beused for increased infra-structure for their projects.

Cite one vote by a majority of City Council that you disagreed with in the past year and why.

The biodiesel plant. It was approved by City Council members Hayes, Parker, Willis and mayoral candi-date Rebecca Adams. Their yes votes, tied our city’s good name to a convicted felon. This project gave commercial access to water-ways and railways within our city to someone with a drug-dealing background.

Should the city and state raise more money to pay for transportation projects? If yes, how?

Yes, the only way this can be done fairly, is to raise the gas tax by 3 or 4 cents. This would create a recurring revenue source that will be equally applied to everyone within Virginia who uses our roadways. Funding transportation projects through the unconstitutional HRTA that was approved by Hayes, Parker and mayoral candidate Adams, placed too much of the burden on private citizens.