Hampton is one of the local cities to have elections coming up on May 4th. Three of the seven council seats are up for election, with two of the incumbents – Vice Mayor Joseph Simpson Spencer and member Randy Gilliland – choosing not to seek re-election. Six candidates are vying for the three seats.
The Peninsula League of Women Voters hosted a candidates’ forum Thursday night in the city council chambers. I was privileged to serve as moderator.
The forum lasted 90 minutes, with the candidates taking on a wide range of questions submitted by the audience, plus one from me. There were a couple of things that struck me.
First, I’m not sure I’ve ever been with a more polite group. Kudos to the candidates for not only sticking to the questions asked, but also for staying within the allotted time frames for answering.
Second, the amount of agreement among the candidates was astounding. There were subtle differences – mostly in style, not substance – but nothing that really separated candidates, particularly the five who are not current members of council.
Whenever I attend an event like this, I try to look at it from the perspective of the average voter. Sometimes, that’s hard to do. That wasn’t the case last night because although I am an observer of politics, my knowledge of the inside baseball of Hampton politics is limited. So it was easy for me to actually take that “average voter” perspective last night. All of the candidates sounded as if they would serve Hampton to the best of their ability. So I’m not sure, given the lack of differentiation, how this election becomes anything more than a personality contest.
My later conversations with two of my sisters who attended the forum and who don’t pay attention to politics, confirmed my suspicions. Different candidates appealed to them for different reasons, none of which had anything to do with the issues facing Hampton. Perhaps, over the next couple of weeks leading up to the election, the candidates will find a way to separate themselves from the pack.
A big kudos to the Peninsula League of Women Voters for putting together this forum. And a special thanks to Councilwoman Angela Leary who not only attended last night’s forum but was the sponsor for the event.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
I’ll be rooting for Donnie Tuck!
Because…?
…it’s close to “Donald Duck”!
You must be Big Bird. If Donnie gets elected you will have to find another nest egg
I’m rooting for Donnie Tuck because of his knowledge and understanding of the bigger picture in Hampton. I have been a citizen for 40 years and want to see this rich history maintained. Not to have almost every historical landmark replaced by modern day, and many times failing, buildings.
It has been quite awhile that someone this talented that can really make a difference for those that don’t have a voice on council.
http://www.tuck4hcc.com/index.htm
Now, that is probably the best campaign site that I have ever seen for a council level race. Take a look, this guy knows his stuff and it is articulated pretty well on his site.
Hampton has fallen victim to a lot of the things many other cities have:
Tuck points out how they flout the will of the people on such issues as Buckroe Beach and development. Then there is the issue of Fort Monroe and what council and interests wanted vs. what the people they represent want.
Like many cities, Tuck points out how Hampton has a bad habit of not being transparent and guilty of some pretty mind boggling real estate transactions. You know, they buy high and sell low, exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. If it happens on a rare occasion you can chalk it up to bad timing. However, when it happens frequently, it kinda makes you wonder if it isn’t being intentionally done…..for what ever purpose….I’ll leave it at that.
I’ve seen how Virginia Beach LOVES to spend tax payers dollars even in a bad economy. Hampton does also according to Donnie Tuck. Unfortunately, Hampton doesn’t spend that money on infrastructure improvements in existing neighborhoods that live there already. I guess they don’t matter. See the flooding issue on his site. I understand Norfolk also has its issues with flooding. It is almost funny how much in common we have with our good neighbors on the other side of the water, huh?
I don’t live in Hampton but, I’ve heard great things about this guy. He’s also been endorsed by a diverse group of people. From the Sierra Club to Rep. Tom Gear.
Frankly, if he doesn’t win, I wish he could do a “Chuck Smith” and run in Virginia Beach. VB council could use a guy like Donnie Tuck.
Ok, I just told you why. The Peninsula Libertarians also endorsed him. Being a Libertarian that is part of how I found out about him. I was hoping not to say much. I’m fearful that a great candidate like Donnie Tuck might lose a few votes if budget hawks like myself support him too strongly. That and I thought I would avoid writing a book on a blog page for a change. Oh, well.
Having attended all of the forums to date Gwaltney, Tuck, and Moffett are clearly the head of the class. Seller’s and Washington stumble through their own rehearsed introductions and are completely lost when the questions come from the floor.
Stuart continues a long winded rant about his business acumen but hey, he inherited his company from his father-in-law. Come back with a ligitimate accomplishment. Besides, every time we elect a Hampton business owner, the only improvements to Hampton are at tax payer expense, to the businessman/council members properties….right Mr. Wornom
Donnie Tuck has run for office 7 times.
He claims he is a contractor and no one knows who is clients are…
He jumps on populist issues and statisticcs are often unfounded. Hampton need to be careful of electing someone that is obssessed with being an elected official and sole income will come from the council salary. The tea Party movement and libertarians are supporters of Tuck.
You speak out of both sides of your mouth. Chris Stuart is setting a record to buy a vote. He is virtually unknown to the taxpayers of Hampton. Donnie Tuck is supported by a number of people and groups, and he is not beholding to the “good ole boys” who have been running Hampton for the past 25 years. “No one knows who is clients are”, why don’t you ask Donnie Tuck. Donnie has done more in helping citizens and organizations then you have done reading. Donnie has served at the citizens at the local level. He has experience to go with education and common sense. Whose boat have you been riding in “Buckroe’s Best”?
One should also ask, what has Tuck done in the community..??
Why do we only see him show up during election season?
Buckroe’s Best? Best what? Devloper? Special interest?
Takes a brave soul to hide behind a fake name and hurl unsupported accusations. Unsupported by facts and unsupported by a …….real name.
Instead of offering reasons for an alternative, you only can manage attacking a candidate from the shadows? Maybe you’re Buckroe’s Best BS’er?
What has Donnie Tuck done for the community? Again I would refer you to his web site.
http://www.tuck4hcc.com/community.htm
-Foster Parent & Mentor
-taught youth Bible study
-Served as a Elementary School PTA President!
Yea, this guys does nothing right? You only see him during election season?
See, unlike you, He even posts pictures and in the case of his community prayer to end violence in the community, he shows a newspaper clipping from the Daily Press. The Daily Press seems to have seen him in action, what’s your story now?
Where were you when he prepared tax assistance and free tax preparation for seniors? Or participating in the Elton Brown Thanksgiving Day Dinner Feeding?
Lastly, Libertarians do support him. They endorsed him. The Tea Party to my knowledge has not, however, I call myself a Tea Partier and Libertarian
and I do.
Of course you leave out the Sierra Club, and State Coalition for Justice for Civil Rights endorsing him.
See that’s the thing about Libertarians, we can find commonalities with the both the “Right” and the “Left”, but you only want to paint us with the broad brush that highlights those of us that are also active Tea Partiers. Sure, your brush may be broad, but your view is quite narrow.
I wanted to step up and throw my two cents. Donnie Tuck is not a Libertarian, although our local political party decided to support him after we failed to put a candidate of our own up. We feel that Mr. Tuck is the best choice for the City of Hampton as he has a strong understanding of how the city operates and its budget. We believe Mr. Tuck also has Libertarian tendencies towards his philosophy of government. Donnie Tuck would like to see the city of Hampton get out of the real estate purchasing business. Instead, he will focus on the infrastructure of Hampton, such as the road system and on reducing the flood problems that are harming our neighbors’ homes.
Actually, the Vice Mayor of Hampton is Joe Spencer, not Joe Simpson.