Hampton Roads votes: election roundup

Municipal elections were held throughout Hampton Roads yesterday. Some results were expected, but in every city, there were surprises.

Norfolk

Incumbents were returned to council in four races – Mayor Paul Fraim, Ward 2 Theresa Whibley, Ward 3 Anthony Burfoot, and Ward 4 Paul Riddick – while the open seat in Ward 1 was captured by Andy Protogyrou. The upset of the day was the election in Ward 5 of Tommy Smigiel over longtime incumbent Randy Wright.

Portsmouth

Three council seats were available. Two incumbents – Bill Moody and Marlene Randall – were re-elected. The third seat was claimed by Paige Cherry, who lost by 79 votes in 2009, and who beat incumbent Doug Smith by 97 votes.

Four seats on the School Board, with three incumbents running, were on the ballot. Two of the incumbents were re-elected: Mark Whitaker and Jim Hewitt. The other two seats were claimed by Ernest Reid and Claude Parent, Jr. as the third incumbent, Linda Ridenour, finished fifth.

Chesapeake

Seventeen people vied for five council seats, including four incumbents. Chesapeake, more than any other South Hampton Roads city, has injected partisan politics into the local elections and it showed Tuesday. The three new comers – Susan Kelly, Lonnie Craig and Scott Matheson – were endorsed by the Chesapeake Republican Party. Re-elected were two incumbents, Republican John de Triquet, and Democrat Ella Ward. Losing their seats were incumbent Dwight Parker, who barely beat Kelly in 2008, and Bryan Collins.

The chairwoman of the Chesapeake School Board, Sheila Hill-Russ, lost her seat yesterday as two new comers joined three incumbents in claiming the five seats. Christie New Craig and Bonita Billingsley Harris join incumbents James Leftwich Jr., Michael Woods and Marry Murphy on the board.

Hampton

Three city council seats were available, with only one incumbent, Paige Washington, running for re-election. The three seats were won by Will Moffett, Donnie Tuck and Chris Stuart.  Washington finished fifth in the field of six candidates.

The school board seat for the Hampton Roads District, seat A was won by challenger Jennifer Phillips, who defeated incumbent Henry Gofrey. Joseph Kilgore won the seat for the Chesapeake District, seat A. The third seat, Hampton Roads District, seat B, was won by Butch Harper, who ran unopposed.

Newport News

With Joe Frank retiring, the mayor’s seat was up for grabs. Dr. McKinley Price defeated councilwoman Pat Woodbury to win this position. All three incumbents running for council – Bert Bateman, Jr., Sharon Scott and Joe Whitaker – were re-elected.

For School Board, incumbents Dee Johnson and Carlton Ashby, who ran unopposed, were re-elected. The third incumbent, Mike Wagner, narrowly lost to Pricillia Burnett. The open seat was won by Jeff Stodghill.

Williamsburg

A William & Mary student, Scott Foster, was the top voter-getter in the race for two seats on the Williamsburg City Council. Also elected was newcomer Doug Pons. Incumbent Bobby Braxton finished fourth.