Norfolk candidates forum: 87th House and 6th Senate

The Bayview, Cottage Line, Ocean View, East Ocean View and Pinewell civic leagues held a combined candidates forum last Wednesday night for the candidates in the 87th house district – incumbent Democrat Paula Miller and Republican challenger Hank Giffin – and the 6th Senate district – incumbent Republican Nick Rerras and Democratic challenger Ralph Northam. The candidates were provided the questions in advance, although I am told that the final list of questions was slightly different from those provided. The list of questions was quite long, covering:

• Real estate assessments and taxes
• Pay day lending
• Traffic
• Environment
• Education

Not all of the questions in each category were asked, thank goodness – or we’d still be there 😦 There was a segment of general questions which were not asked. Too bad – some of the best questions were in that category.

Photos and more on the flip.

A tremendous amount of time was spent on – what else? – real estate taxes. Even when the question wasn’t about real estate taxes, the answer was. All of the candidates support the 20% homestead exemption. Giffin and Rerras support a 5% cap on assessments, similar to this bill introduced by Rerras last session. Miller was ready. While I didn’t see the fliers Pam mentioned, the placard showing the differences in the real estate taxes under the homestead exemption versus the 5% cap were a good visual aid. Research in places where there caps on assessments (note: a cap on assessments is not the same as a cap on taxes) indicates that the unintended consequence is that higher taxes are paid. (Yeah, I know – I still have to get that post up.) So while you might not believe it, the math shown was absolutely correct.

Northam reminded those assembled that the homestead exemption is not a new idea. He also demonstrated his knowledge of the issues facing the Chesapeake Bay as well as the intricacies of the abuser fees. Republican candidates can keep blaming Governor Tim Kaine for taking out-of-state drivers out of the mix but unless there’s a way to collect from them, making them subject to the fees doesn’t mean a thing.

Giffin, like most challengers, suffers from a lack of intimate knowledge of the general assembly and the way things work. He said at one point that there was no real estate tax relief in Norfolk prior to the Norfolk Tea Party II, which is not the case. He called for the opening of the books of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Commission, but it was Rerras who, to his credit, pointed out that the Commission does not operate with our tax money. One thing that Giffin did say surprised me. He took a rather cheap shot at Miller over the change in her vote on the transportation bill, saying that the Governor told her how to vote. I know Giffin, although not well, and like and respect him. The comment he made was unnecessary and certainly out of character for the man that I know.

What can I say about Rerras? It’s been an honor for him to serve, he is honored to have received various endorsements, he’s been honored to carry legislation – well, you get the picture. And I lost count of the number of times he mentioned that he grew up in Norfolk and that his kids go to public schools. The final question of the evening – would you proposed an amendment to the Norfolk City charter without the support of Norfolk Council? – was certainly chosen to attempt to make him look good and to talk, one more time, about the 5% tax cap.

I applaud the five civic leagues for putting together this forum, even though there were some questions thrown in to make some people look good. The fact is that the candidates have tough schedules over the next few weeks leading up to election day and by doing a joint forum, it allows them the opportunity to get in front of a large group at one time. I don’t have a sense as to how many people were there but I do wish there had been more. Someone said that there are 33,000 voters in the 87th – and only a fraction of them were at the forum, which is a shame. As someone said, democracy is not a spectator sport.

One other thing requires comment. The questions were posed by the presidents of the five participating civic leagues. One of the civic league presidents was obviously not a Miller support, which is, of course, his right. But I was offended that he was disrespectful in addressing her. While he referred to Rerras as Senator, Northam as Doctor, and Giffin as Admiral, he persisted in calling Delegate Miller “Mrs. Miller.” One time is a slip, but multiple times is deliberate. I mentioned it to him afterwards and he blew me off, which is also his right. But it says more about him than it does about Del. Miller.

Technorati Tags: Paula Miller, Hank Giffin, Ralph Northam, Nick Rerras