I attended a candidates’ forum last night, hosted by the Portsmouth and Chesapeake Democratic committees. Appearing at the forum were State Senator Louise Lucas, who graciously hosted the event at her Lucas Center, Senator Mamie Locke, Delegate Ken Melvin, Steve Heretick, David Bouchard, Delegate Johnny Joannou and Henry Light. Heretick and Bouchard are competing in the June 12 primary for the nomination in the 13th Senate district, while Joannou and Light are squaring off for the nomination in the 79th House district.
I arrived around 6:25pm for the 6:30 start. (I was none too happy for the trip to have taken me 35 minutes 😦 ) The parking lot was full, a very good sign. As it turns out, the room was overflowing with folks. It ended up being standing room only. I’m sure that the PDC and CDC were pleased with the turnout.
The format of the evening was explained to us at the beginning. Each candidate was allowed 4 minutes to make an opening statement, 4 minutes to make a closing statement, and there would be six questions that each candidate would have 2 minutes to answer. With seven participants, you can do the math: it was a long night. Nevertheless, it was an informative night for those assembled. The six questions covered nearly every important topic, from transportation to health care to taxes to lottery proceeds..
The three candidates running in uncontested races – Lucas, Locke, and Melvin – provided a tremendous amount of insight on the processes of the General Assembly and highlighted how their efforts have been stymied by being in the minority party. Lucas, who has served in the GA since 1992, pointed out that her license plates now bear the number 12, but that due to retirements, she will get number 10, regardless of the outcome of the races in November. However, she pointed out that should the Democrats get to 21, she will likely become a committee chair, impressing upon those assembled the need to elect four Democratic senators this fall.
The two contested races represented provided a study in contrasts. Steve Heretick, currently a Portsmouth City Council member, is a polished politician. He demonstrated knowledge of government that nearly equaled that of those currently in the General Assembly. No doubt this is part of the reason that Governor Tim Kaine has endorsed him. He will serve the residents of of the 13th Senate district well.
David Bouchard introduced himself by saying that he is not a politician. And he lived up to it. He may not have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the nomination, but I was impressed by his honesty and earnestness. His desire to serve to help the less fortunate among us was genuine. I hope this is not the last time we hear from him.
By far the most contentious comments of the evening came from the candidates in the 79th House district, incumbent Johnny Joannou and challenger Henry Light. It is clear that there is no love lost between these two. The effort on the part of both candidates to impress voters with their endorsements left little time for them to actually answer the questions.
Light’s persistent claims that Joannou voted against Warner and Kaine were met with counterclaims by Joannou that his voting record has been distorted. His urging that folks check out his actual voting record prompted at least one person with whom I spoke afterwards to give consideration to changing her endorsement of Light.
Interestingly enough, Light was the only candidate who voiced support of the transportation bill. All four of the incumbents actually voted against it and both Heretick and Bouchard indicated that they would have. Melvin provided an interesting answer regarding his vote on the bill, saying it gave him the opportunity to have his cake and eat it, too. He said he could stand on principle and vote against a bad bill, while knowing that the bill would pass. Heretick spoke about how he would have voted against it, and then explained how, as a council member, he had voted in support it – because it’s the only chance we have right now to get some transportation dollars locally.
Overall, I believe the forum accomplished its goal of giving voters the opportunity to hear the candidates speak on the issues. (Voters in the 79th will get another chance to hear from these candidates at next week’s forum. More on that later.) I applaud the Portsmouth and Chesapeake Committees for hosting this forum.
Also, just a reminder that some of the precincts in Portsmouth will be closed on June 12. The PDC put out an information pamphlet (copies were distributed last night) for Portsmouth voters which does a good job of explaining which precincts will be open and you will be asked if you want a Democratic or Republican ballot (10, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36) and which will be open only for the Democratic primary (11, 22, 37 and 38). Contact the registrar’s office (393-8644) if you have additional questions.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 