Norfolk Ward 5 candidates

The last of the council races is that for Ward 5. This ward is bounded by Little Creek Road on the east, and Old Ocean View Road and Willoughby Spit on the west. The candidates are first-timer Michael C. Osburn and 14-year incumbent W. Randy Wright.

Michael C. Osburn
Little is known about Michael Osburn, other than the fact that he attended Lake Taylor High School, is retired from the Navy, lives in Ward 5 and ran because Wright has run unoppsed for eight years. All that can be learned from his answers to the Pilot questionnaire which can be found here.

According to this article, Osburn has endorsed a 30-cent reduction in the real estate tax rate. The Pilot seems to think that Osburn will collect the anti-Wright vote.

W. Randy Wright
W. Randy Wright was an early beneficiary of the implementation of the ward system, having been elected in the first ward election in 1992. His bio can be found here and his answers to the Pilot questionnaire here.

Wright is an ardent opponent of the Bay Oaks Committee and their efforts to retain a 21-acre parcel in East Ocean View for a park. He is intimately familiar with the city charter and its limitations on referendum, having been a founding member of the Norfolk Tea Party.

The group was formed in an attempt to force council to lower real estate taxes when the state, in 1978, mandated that all real estate be assessed at 100% of fair market value. At the time, the real estate rate was $1.62 per $100 of assessment. The group collected some 20,000 signatures on petitions, but lost their referendum effort in the Virginia Supreme Court. Ultimately, council lowered the rate to $1.30 and the Norfolk Tea Party claimed credit. True to his roots, today Wright supports a 20-cent reduction in the real estate tax rate.

Wright has remained active in politics since his Norfolk Tea Party days. He ran unsuccessfully for council in 1986 under the old at-large system. Today Wright seems comfortable in his power-broker role on council. His only attempt for another elected office occurred in 1995, when he ran for Clerk of Court. Since losing that election, he has focused his efforts on his ward.

The dramatic shift in the flow of resources from downtown projects to East Ocean View has been the due to the single-minded determination of Wright. Along the way, he has stepped on toes and made some enemies. The acquisition by NRHA of the $50 million, 90-acre parcel that has become East Beach did not happen smoothly. By nearly all accounts, though, the project has been a success.