Recall, if you will, what Don Luzzatto said about the endorsements at The Virginian-Pilot. Using that as a guide, here are my predictions of their endorsements. It should be noted that even though I write an opinion column for the editorial page, I was not privy to the interview and decision-making process.
Portsmouth Mayor
Elizabeth Psimas. Although there is no incumbent, I doubt if any of the other candidates could demonstrate the “deep understanding of the issues” the board values.
Norfolk Ward 7
Earl Fraley. Again, this seat lacks an incumbent. Fraley’s experience on the Planning Commission plus his seven years as the Norfolk Department of Utilities’ Operations Manager should have gotten him the “deep understanding of the issues” vote of the board.
Virginia Beach
At-large (2 seats)
Rita Sweet Bellitto and Dave Redmond. Bellitto is an incumbent. No way the Pilot endorses the other incumbent, Bill DeSteph, in this race. The newcomer, Dave Redmond, will be a “fresh voice” on council, despite his ties to Mayor Will Sessoms.
Bayside
Incumbent Louis Jones will get the nod, because, well, he’s the incumbent.
Beach
The incumbent, John Uhrin, is running unopposed. No need for an endorsement here.
Lynnhaven
Incumbent Jim Wood gets the nod here as well.
Princess Anne
The surprise of the Virginia Beach endorsements will be Tanya Bullock over incumbent Barbara Henley. Expect something like “smart, capable” to accompany this endorsement.
Suffolk
I have not kept up with the Suffolk races this year, so I don’t know what’s going on over there. Based on VPAP alone, I’d say incumbents Charles Brown (Cypress), Jeffrey Gardy (Holy Neck) and Charles Parr (Suffolk) would get the nod. Looks like the race over there is in the Chuckatuck borough, which is an open seat. Mike Duman is a self-funding candidate, while Caroline Martin is not. On that basis, I’d say Martin.
Congress
Easy: Bobby Scott in the 3rd and Randy Forbes in the 4th.
In the 2nd, it will be Glenn Nye. A challenger has to answer two questions: why to fire the other guy and why to hire him. While Scott Rigell has run a spirited campaign – and, in fact, may win – he hasn’t answered the question of why to fire Nye, and the claims he has made so far ring hollow. Nye is not a rubber stamp for Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some, like this letter writer, wish he were. And it is ludicrous to suggest that Nye should have known about JFCOM but Forbes not.
About the only reason I can think of that the Pilot would use if they bumped their heads and endorsed Rigell would be the expected change to Republican control of the House. The party in control of the House was used as the excuse for endorsing Thelma Drake in 2006.
I won’t be surprised if the Pilot endorsement does not mention Kenny Golden at all.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
That sounds like the Virginian-Pilot Editorial Board I know and feel generally ambivalent towards.
I’m also expecting the endorsement in 2CD to do something along the lines of express how they wish they could endorse Rigell because in these difficult times there’s a solid case to be made for blah blah blah blah blah but ultimately, though not for lack of energy, Mr. Rigell has not yet made a case compelling enough to win our endorsement.
As nature abhors a vacuum, the Pilot abhors bland races, and this one will ultimately come down to whether the name on the ballot has a D or an R behind it. Which is about as bland as you can get.
I’m thinking you have the editorial board’s rap sheet committed to memory. If they don’t go the way you forecast, my hunch is you have shamed them out of it. (Not happening; they have no shame!)
The V-P makes me bipolar: I “love” their reporters and “hate” the editorial board, at least when it comes to their candidate selections. In Portsmouth they’ve even lifted the exact phrasing of the incumbents’ political-consultant-wordsmithed propaganda in the endorsement! It is pathetic.
I hope you’re wrong about Barbara Henley. I would hate to lose her and see Council lean further right.
In 2005, in a shameless bout of splitting the middle, the Pilot endorsed Tim Kaine for Governor and Bob McDonnell for AG, and rejected both of the LG candidates. Instead, they proposed that people write in Russ Potts, the GOP senator running for governor as an independent, for LG.
I looked at the results in the Pilot’s readership area some time after the election. There were, as I recall, about 700 more writeins in the LG race than in the other two, almost all of them on the west side of Norfolk. Assuming I got the numbers right, that should tell you about how much a Pilot endorsement is worth.
Batting 2 for 2 so far with the endorsement of Scott and Forbes. But that was an obvious gimme.
2 for 3
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/scott-rigell-2nd-district
They say Rigell supports civil unions. Has he actually said that?
I recall him saying contractual rights specifically. I’d have to check the videos on civil unions to be sure.
The Pilot Editorial Board should seriously consider checking themselves into a mental institution. Endorsing Rigell, I can understand that, he is a good guy, but to say this;
“His political inexperience has shown during the campaign in his easy embrace of partisan talking points, and he has backpedaled on his moderate views, especially during the hard-fought primary, when he was forced to defend his donations to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and a 2002 effort to raise taxes for transportation in Hampton Roads. He also fell into the trap of promising to never raise taxes, a voter-friendly gimmick that has time and again come back to haunt politicians when they recognize spending cuts alone sometimes are not enough to close deficits.”
…and then endorse the guy… They basically said he is a puppet and has no backbone, and then that he is the best choice.
I did say that they might bump their heads 🙂
I also hope Barbara Henley is re-elected. Vivian, interesting read- I laughed out loud about the “bumped their heads” part!
Laughing is good 😆
Make that 4 out of 5
Norfolk Ward 7: Fraley
Portsmouth Mayor: Psimas
Brava! You put yourself “in the line of fire” and are faring pretty darn well thus far. Could I get a little help, Great Seer, with the MegaMillions numbers? I’ll give you a commission!