Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney race

Due to the elevation of Jack Doyle to the bench, there will be a special election in Norfolk on March 10 to elect his replacement as Commonwealth’s Attorney. The Democrats have nominated Greg Underwood, a senior deputy in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, while Republicans have nominated John Coggeshall, a Norfolk attorney.

Thursday night, the two squared off in an abbreviated candidates’ forum hosted by the Norfolk Federation of Civic Leagues.  They were each given five minutes to make an opening statement and then a few more minutes to take questions from those assembled, a group which included a number of members of the Norfolk Democratic and Republican parties.

Listening to their opening statements, I felt like I had walked into the middle of an argument that I had no idea what started it.

I know that the candidates face off night after night in these kinds of forums. And, no doubt, they could probably give each other’s spiel about why they are the right guy for the job. But given that this was my first time seeing the two of them together (I know both candidates), I was disappointed in the attack mode that was utilized in the opening statements, started by Underwood, who went first, but continued by Coggeshall. Not a good first impression on me.

But the icing on the cake was the last of the three questions posed from the audience. Designed to make one candidate look good, it literally deteriorated into a back and forth between the other candidate and the questioner, while the “moderators” stood and watched.

I absolutely hate to see a candidate ganged up on. It’s not fair to the candidates nor is it fair to the attendees, who often have no idea what the heck is going on. Yes, I know anything goes in the wild and wacky world of politics, but that doesn’t make it right. And the “moderators” have a responsibility to the audience to try to keep things fair. Last night, they appeared shell-shocked as the exchange took place.

I don’t know that anyone changed their minds last night after seeing these two. And I don’t know if they really learned anything about the candidates. With less than a month to go before the election, that is a shame.