The candidates for council in Wards 3 and 4, Anthony L. Burfoot and Paul R. Riddick, are running without opposition. By default, these men will represent us. Like all of the candidates save Andy Wallach, neither of them chose to respond to my request for information to post here. Therefore, they get my take on them!
Ward 3 – Anthony L. Burfoot
Burfoot was elected to council in 2002, unseating incumbent Herb Collins. Collins was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that resulted in the ward system being implemented in Norfolk. Burfoot ran for council at the urging of current Vice Mayor Daun Hester, likely in retaliation for Collins’ run against her for her superward seat two years earlier.
Burfoot’s official resume can be found on the city’s website. Since being elected, he has been visibly involved with several projects, including the Broad Creek project and most recently the Norview Community Center. He also was instrumental in getting the closed W.W. Houston Boys & Girls Club after-school program relocated to Norview Middle School.
Burfoot supports some reduction in the real estate tax rate for Norfolk, but says “I’m telling people we’re not going to be able to cut it 10 or 20 cents. That’s not realistic.” He says he supports a 5-cent reduction in the rate, and that council needs to cut the budget. “They want to reduce taxes, yet at the same time, they’re spending all of the money coming in.”
It has not all been good for Burfoot, however. He was accused of impersonating a Chesapeake official at a nightclub, although no charges were filed. He seems to be at war with certain residents of the Norview area, having denied them entry to a meeting. There are other reports of Burfoot wanting to disband the Five Points Partnership, an organization dedicated to improving the Five Points area of Norview.
My own issue with Burfoot is that he has become a part of the establishment, a deal maker in the mold of the politicians that I have difficulty with. I am concerned about the displacement of the poor from the housing projects torn down and replaced with the Broad Creek development. Yes, it increases the tax base, but by reducing the number of units of affordable housing, we have exacerbated the problem. In addition, I have found Burfoot to be unresponsive to anyone outside of his ward – unless, of course, you are a developer who wants to build within his ward. That is a problem of the ward system – elected officials have no need to pay attention to those who cannot vote for them.
Finally, I find the deal that Burfoot made to support Moss in the Treasurer’s race inexcusable. In exchange for his support of Moss, Burfoot arranged for a black woman to be hired to work in the Treasurer’s office. This was similar to the deal made four years earlier – prior to Burfoot’s election to council – that resulted in another black being hired by the Treasurer’s office. (The person no longer works there.) I have no problem with Burfoot wanting to support Moss – that is his right. But making such a deal is politics as usual and that is the last thing we need in Norfolk.
Ward 4 – Paul R. Riddick
Originally elected to council in the first ward elections in 1992, Riddick’s official biography is also on the city’s website.
Riddick is a conservative member of council. Initially, he said he supported a real estate tax rate reduction of eight to ten cents, but has recently been noncommittal on it, saying that “I haven’t seen all that we have to do in this year’s budget. So right now I can’t commit to any level of cuts.” He seems inclined to support the deferral of taxes proposed by councilman Barclay Winn but has recognized the impact that the loss of Ford will have on the city’s budget, saying “It’s going to make us be a little more cautious. Residents should understand that we have to be very cautious, because this will have a very dramatic impact on us.”
Concerned about the issues of crime and polce strategies for combatting it, Riddick, along with councilman Randy Wright, held a public forum in December. The citizens concerns were passed to council.
It is a little difficult to find much positive on Riddick when scouring the web. Even the Pilot’s article on his re-election announcement called him “controversial.” Much of the focus is on his missteps, including the infamous ham-throwing incident, his use of racial slurs and his past tax problems. What seems to be missing from recent coverage of Riddick is his longstanding committment to being the voice of the people who elected him. Ward 4, like ward 3, is a majority-minority ward. The former Vice Mayor, this article and this one indicate his willingness to speak out on issues he considers important to the community he represents. Prior to his election to council, he was the lead plaintiff in a failed lawsuit against the school board regarding the end of cross-town busing. Riddick represents my own neighborhood, although the demographics of it fall outside of his normal constituency.
I am not pleased that Riddick was a party to the aforementioned deal back in 2001 to place a black into the Treasurer’s office in exchange for his support of Moss. He did not make the same misstake in 2005. At the same time, I have uncovered no evidence that Riddick is engaging in the ongoing horse-trading that seems to dominate council decisions. I wholeheartedly support Riddick’s re-election to council. His is a valuable voice.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 