THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507010115
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
It was with mirth that I read Emily Kircheval's letter in the June 15 Compass regarding Norfolk's budget and Councilman Randy Wright's qualifications for office.
City budgets are never perfect, but this year most people were satisfied. Those who showed up at the public hearings had their ideas and needs addressed. The council worked hard and deserves credit.
Let's look at Randy Wright's qualifications to be clerk of the Circuit Court. He currently is on the State Board of Professional and Occupational Licensing, the SEVAMP Executive Board and the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee. In addition, he chairs the Community Leaders of Norfolk. He is a member of the Regional Jail Authority. He also chairs the Council Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and is on the Small Business Task Force Committee. To list all of his experience would fill a page.
In sum, he has spent the last 14 years dealing with city and state legal affairs. This experience more than qualifies him for the position of Clerk of Court.
In addition to all of this, he is the only candidate to run a business and understands competition and how to work within a budget. He wants to reform the office, making it more user friendly to the public by opening the office earlier and making customer service a priority.
Randy Wright has been an involved community leader. It was he who sought to bring the battleship Iowa here at no expense to the taxpayers of Norfolk. He has stood up time and again for taxpayers' rights.
The position of Clerk of Court needs to be filled by a businessman who knows the needs of taxpaying citizens and business owners. The clerk's position has historically been held by laymen, not lawyers. Our government is overrepresented by lawyers. Norfolk does not need another laywer to look out for other lawyers. That's like asking a fox to guard the hen house.
In closing, Randy Wright is clearly the most qualified candidate running. He has worked with every aspect of the position of Clerk of Court. His chief opponent has zero experience working in the clerk's office. Vote your pocketbook and your common sense. Elect Randy Wright Clerk of Court.
L.R. Pierce
Benwood Road
Cities must work together
Mr. David R. Goode, CEO of Norfolk Southern Railroad headquartered on Main Street in downtown Norfolk, has addressed problems concerning regionalism and cooperation between cities of Hampton Roads to establish a national and international identity for this area.
He says the cities must work together more closely and resolve their differences to establish a regional identity.
Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Plan 2007, which Mr. Goode mentions, states - ``all of Hampton Roads - faces certain economic stagnation and rising unemployment unless it becomes more competitive.''
Mr. Goode says, ``We're here only because Norfolk provides a viable urban core'' - downtown Norfolk.
If Mr. Goode walks two blocks from his headquarters he will see Norfolk's viable urban core - the Norfolk jail is holding 1,400 inmates and was built to hold only 579. Norfolk's mayor has said that it cannot be brought up to meet existing city building codes standards and must be torn down or completely rehabilitated.
Norfolk's problem is the same as other Hampton Roads cites;
a. Lack of national and international management experience by city councils and city administrators and economic city developers working for the cities.
Solution:
a. Hire international and national retired CEO's of Mr. Goode's stature to bring in businesses from Korea, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, Canada and Brazil, just to name a few.
Bruce H. Banks
Pecan Point Road by CNB