The primary race between Johnny Joannou and Henry Light was the one that I followed the closest. The end result was not a surprise.
One has to look at the 79th district in order to understand the dynamics at work here. After redistricting in 2001, a small portion of Norfolk (4 precincts) was lumped in with a much larger segment of Portsmouth (13 precincts), a bit of Chesapeake (1 precinct) and a bit of Suffolk (2 precincts). Norfolk’s precincts are on the west side of the city – and those folks are used to being in charge, at the pinnacle of power. Add into the mix the fact that the current representative, Johhny Joannou, is not a Norfolk boy and that his votes have sometimes been less than supportive of the Democratic Party and it’s a no brainer that at some point, a challenger from that area would emerge.
I first heard about a Henry Light candidacy back in February at a meeting of the Women’s Roundtable. Intrigued, I started doing my homework on him. When we finally spoke back in March, one of the things that I talked to him about was whether or not he had locals around him, advising him. His answer at the time was something like “obviously, not enough.” I urged him to get some.
Apparently, that didn’t happen.
To me, this race was a test of NoVA-style politics in Hampton Roads – and it failed miserably. All the money in the world can’t make up for the relationships that people have. Consultants who don’t understand the nature of the electorate are only good for one thing: spending a candidate’s money. I don’t blame Light for this; after all, he was a first-time candidate at the mercy of the so-called “professionals.” From my perspective – and based on what I heard from others – the campaign was simply too negative for this area. Forget about the endorsements, many of which were based on folks playing inside baseball. I’m talking about what the voters said – and, after all, those are the only endorsements that really matter.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a challenger has to answer two questions – why the other guy should be fired and why the voters should hire you. Once again, a campaign has failed to answer the second question. It was not enough for Light to say that he is a Tim Kaine/Mark Warner Democrat – he needed to explain what that meant. It was not enough to say that Joannou always voted no – he needed to explain why he would have voted yes.
The point that I realized that Light couldn’t win was at the candidates’ forum held in Portsmouth last month. Seven candidates – and only Light was in favor of the transportation plan. Here, it was Light who looked out of step with the rest of the Democrats. The passage of the regional transportation authority in Hampton Roads is by no means assured. This is in contrast to NoVA where passage is expected. The consultants steered him wrong on this, similar to the way the consultants steered Phil Kellam wrong last fall.
This will not be the last time a challenger to Joannou comes out of Norfolk. I suspect we will see another in two years. And I don’t expect the next one to make the same mistakes. For Joannou, the 2009 campaign starts today.
One thing I hope folks take away from this race: the blogosphere ain’t the real world. At least not in Hampton Roads. The coverage of this race on the blogs was extremely lopsided. Perhaps it is because there are few bloggers from Hampton Roads, perhaps it is because the few folks from Hampton Roads who participate in the blogosphere as commenters were unwilling to take on the backlash that would have inevitably come from admitting to supporting Joannou. And perhaps it is because Joannou has no internet presence. Whatever the case, I think it’s clear that the blogosphere missed the call on this race.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
When you get a chance, could you explain the electoral reasons for Light’s loss? I would be fascinated to see them…
It’s because people would rather look past the way he votes and vote for their good man Johnny. I just hope that the Northam campaign pays attention to this.
At the end of the day, folks were willing to sacrifice their integrity and look past the fact that this man is unfit for the House of Delegates.
I guess that past relationships trump all. I just thought that men like Bobby Scott were above that.
Good and thoughtful commentary. Thanks.
Sean – Bobby doesn’t live in the 79th and can’t vote there. I’m not sure why you’re bringing him into this.
Because he endorsed him. When asked by Angelica Light why he was supporting Joannou and why he wrote a letter on his behalf he said,” Because he’s been friends with Joannou for so long.”
I thought Scott was above such matters. I’ve always held him up as the kind of politician I’d like to be. The man has been my hero since I moved to Virginia.
I just hate getting more and more cynical as I get older.
How could the Pilot’s endorsement fail to sway the electorate? That’s what I want to know. (This comment not approved by or endorsed by my employer in any way.)
OK, obviously I need to calm down. I’m a little bit angry that Light lost. Congressman Scott is still, and always will be, my guy.
I just need a few days away from the blogosphere.
Ummm yeah people in Portsmouth don’t read, that kinda made the pilot endoresement obsolete, except in Norfolk. In all honesty after a month of doing this, I still hate Portsmouth as much as I use to, never cared for the place. On the other hand I have a whole new respect for the westside of Norfolk. For the record, I never liked Bobby Scott, it was always something about him, and now I have a reason.
Sean –
Politics is just like any other real world situation in which friendships and personal history do matter. There is nothing wrong with that.
Did you know that Joannou was there for Bobby Scott every time he has run for office, including the time he first won his State Senate seat in the early ’80s and his failed bid for Congress in 1986? Did you know that Joannou was one of the earliest supporters of Doug Wilder for Lt. Governor in 1985, at a time when the Chamber of Commerce crowd that supported Henry Light this year were doing all they could to defeat Wilder? That’s one reason Wilder helped him Joannou out this year. Yes, these things do matter in politics, as well they should.
You may not agree with Joannou on every vote but he is a very decent person who generally votes a pretty good Democratic line. Obviously, that is not good enough for you. But, for many others who have been able to witness the whole of the man, they see a guy that they like and feel comfortable representing them.
There all a lot of shades of gray in politics which is one of the things that make it so interesting.
Portsmouth votes for Portsmouth when it comes to Joannou. Look at his signs. The biggest word is Johnny. They know him and they like him. Anyone who thinks they’re gonna throw him out for a Norfolk Democrat doesn’t get it.
Good post, Vivian.
I have to admit I cringed through this entire campaign. I like Henry Light a lot, and politically I’m a good deal closer to him than Joannou. But it was pretty obvious from the beginning that Henry didn’t have any real chance of winning, and it was disappointing to watch him burn all that money that could have been put to use against real Republicans.
And I have a data point for Mr. Mastio if he’s really interested in the Pilot’s editorial influence. In 2005 his paper did its usual down-the-middle-until-it-hurts act in statewide race endorsements. In fact the VP went further than usual, endorsing Kaine for governor, McDonnell for attorney general, and a Russ Potts writein for lieutenant governor. (Note to Leslie Byrne fans: that bobblehead ad even annoyed the Democratic base.) Anyway, if you check the election returns, you’ll find about 350 more writeins for lieutenant governor than for the other two races. There’s your Pilot op-ed vote.
And since I can’t edit that last comment, I’ll add that the 350 were in Norfolk alone. I didn’t find any such effect in the rest of the Pilot’s readership area. Some day I suppose I should go through by precinct and see if all 350 were on the West Side.
James – I think the comments pretty much lay out the electorate in the 79th. Norfolk and Portsmouth are old cities, much less transient than the other Hampton Roads cities and certainly much less transient that NoVA. Joannou has been around a long time and is well-known and well-liked here. It would take a similar person to knock him off.
Newspaper endorsements don’t do as much as campaign “junkies” like myself hope. I remember practically our whole staff practically doing cartwheels when Bill Bradley was endorse by the Des Moines Registar right before he was beat by Gore in the caucus.
If I remember- Larry Sabato has written about this in one of his many books (thinking back to my old poli sci classes!)
Maria