Author Archives: webadmin

Mayoral Candidate 2016: Cliff Page

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[Mr. Cliff Page is one of the six certified candidates for Mayor of Portsmouth. He provided the following response to our offer to introduce him to PCW readers:]

I am glad to share my web and Facebook links with your subscribers and visitors: cliffpage4mayor.org and  https://www.facebook.com/cliffpage4mayor.
You may also share my websites title page. The Web site has an Issues and Positions page where a substantive 54-page, comprehensive document may be downloaded and a two-page bulleted Positions at a Glance page for those who may fall asleep reading the former. Both documents can be opened from the web site and both are in PDF format and can be printed or emailed.
Additionally there is a blog page, http://cliffpage4mayor.org/blog, which is also linked with my Facebook page where issues can be viewed, liked and shared, and commented upon.  Currently, there are four major issues which I consider top agenda items: High Speed Rail to Portsmouth, Increase Democracy in Portsmouth by Expanding the Council with a Ward System, Support for Veterans and the Confederate Monument.  The site also has a page to aid citizens in registering and voting and provides links concerning the subject.

 

I Hear That Train A-Comin’ (updated)

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The Disney version of Davy Crockett liked to say, “Be sure you’re right. Then go ahead.” Certainly, that is the preferred mode of operation at PortsmouthCityWatch.org, but when objective documentation is unavailable and a train is moving down the track in what looks like the wrong direction, action is preferable to paralysis. For that reason we are reaching out to the Portsmouth citizenry in advance of a special meeting of the school board on June 27, 2016. Continue reading →

“Money, Money, Money” in Local Races

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The not-for-profit Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) has been helping the public to track contributions to Virginia political candidates. Founded in 1997 as a collaboration among the largest newspapers in our commonwealth, it has expanded the breadth of its reporting to include the financial accounting for many local candidates. This is of particular benefit to the electorate because those seeking municipal offices can choose to file their reports either electronically or on paper. If not for the efforts of VPAP to collect and share the paper filings, those reports would be effectively shielded from public view by the necessity of visiting the local registrar of voters office every filing period to examine them. Continue reading →

Open Letter 2 to Mayor and Council re: Post-2018 Waste Disposal

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Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of City Council:

I had wanted to write this immediately after the last meeting of council, but life got in the way, so better late than never. I appreciate your vigorous pursuit of an answer regarding the failure of the post-2018 municipal waste disposal RFP process to deliver a workable alternative to what SPSA has offered its member communities. You could have taken the easy way out and affirmed the judgment of the city purchasing administrator that neither of the bids was in the best interests of the city. Instead, in the June 14 work session, Council Member Whitaker asked the right questions of Mr. Ammons, and the mayor and council colleagues supported his efforts to obtain an explanation of the purchasing agent’s ruling. Although I do not know what clarification you may have extracted in closed session, I am pleased that you did not let the matter lie. I hope that this upcoming meeting of council will bring additional relevant information into the public realm and facilitate reaching a waste disposal decision that is truly in the best interests of the citizenry. Continue reading →

Open Letter to Mayor and Council re: Post-2018 Waste Disposal

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[Note: at the May 10 council meeting, our city representatives voted to defer action on the SPSA post-2018 Use and Support Agreement until the first meeting in June. In the interim, the city was to have solicited proposals for go-it-alone solid waste disposal plans. The city has released no information gathered from that process and is positioned to sign on to the regional trash deal this Tuesday.]
Mr. Mayor and Honorable Members of City Council:

In reviewing the agenda for the upcoming council work session and regular meeting of June 14, I am deeply dismayed that no briefing is scheduled regarding the request for proposals the city was to have issued for municipal waste disposal services post 2018. Citizens’ comments on this matter over the past few months, both at SPSA board and council meetings, have demonstrated that our community is interested and concerned about the final decision. For council to have put the original proposal from SPSA back on the agenda without offering any sort of explanation from the city administration about how we have returned to square one is disrespectful of the public’s right to know. I ask, then, that you reflect on and reconsider your way forward. At a minimum before any final action, the city management team should provide the public a written explanation of available options considered and the reasons for their rejection or acceptance. As the citizens of Portsmouth will be bound by the SPSA Use and Support Agreement until at least June 30, 2027, we should have enough information in hand before the agreement is signed on our behalf to know that it will best serve the public interest.

Please let me know if you need additional information.
Yours truly,
Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky

Special Weather Bulletin

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PortsmouthCityWatch.org is issuing a winter storm warning for the southeastern Virginia city of Portsmouth. Our forecaster expects heavy, blowing snow with accumulations of up to twelve inches and drifts up to three feet. This highly localized storm system, confined to the city limits, is the result of a prominently placed article in today’s edition of the Virginian-Pilot which casts a favorable light on Portsmouth. Please stay tuned to local media outlets for updates on this freak weather system.

A Week Away from Big Decisions

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In seven days city council will likely be making one of the biggest decisions of the year and another that could affect us on multiple levels for at least two decades. The first and more predictable of these is adoption of the annual budget. The second is whether to approve a pair of post-2018 refuse disposal agreements with the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA).

A lot can happen in a week in Portsmouth, which makes prognostication a challenge, even for the best crystal ball readers. Going by the published budget calendar and a fairly consistent historical trend, though, we have a reasonable expectation that council will vote on May 10 to adopt the FY 2017 budget in one form or another. With no overt tax or fee increases proposed, it should be a rather “wham-bam-thank you, ma’am” portion of the agenda. Surely, no flashpoints emerged at the public hearing last week, as evidenced by the relative scarcity of speakers at the citizens’ podium during the appointed time. Continue reading →

Open Letter on Records Handling and Retention — Updated

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City Manager Patton, Mayor Wright, and Members of City Council:

If substantiated, the article in today’s edition of the Virginian-Pilot, “Portsmouth Has Been Shredding without Following State Law“, should be a matter of gravest concern to all of you, as well as to our citizenry. I, therefore, call upon you, Dr. Patton, to impose an immediate moratorium on document destruction until you can unequivocally deny the assertions made in the referenced article. Mr. Mayor and Members of Council, I ask you at your next meeting to establish a task force to review current policies on document handling and retention within the city for compliance with state code, particularly requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and for adherence to best practices for business continuation. I suggest that City Clerk Debra White be appointed as chair of the task force and that city staff and citizens with experience and expertise in this area be solicited as participants. With thirty years of professional background in banking and information technology, as well as academic training in the field of history, I also would be willing to serve as a citizen participant.

Continue reading →

From Jim Oliver’s Address to People for Portsmouth

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[Mr. James (“Jim”) B. Oliver, Jr., has graciously allowed us to post his remarks delivered at the March 24, 2016, meeting of People for Portsmouth. Among his many accomplishments, he served as Interim City Manager of Portsmouth from June 2004 until July 2007. The following biographical information is posted on the web site of the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement, a public-spirited organization he helped to establish.

“Jim Oliver is the Emeritus Chairman of the Board for the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement extending his long career in communications, senior government management and civic leadership. He received a B.A. in Communication Arts from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in Urban Services from Old Dominion University and attended Columbia University on a CBS Fellowship in Government. His early career was as a reporter and correspondent for newspaper, radio and television companies. Continue reading →

On Building a “New Portsmouth”

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Portsmouth has recently completed a round of Budget Community Engagement Meetings, which presented useful information on the city’s various programs. In gathering attendees’ responses to budgetary questions, the City took an important first step towards becoming more open and responsive to Portsmouth’s citizenry. The more citizens feel engaged in and important to the process, the more likely they will support the city’s efforts on their behalf.

However, spending for all these programs requires funding and there was little discussion of the City’s ongoing economic development plans. It seems evident that an overriding priority must be creative and continuing economic development, shared regularly, and as fully as possible, with the public. Without courageous and tenacious efforts to revitalizing business in the city, Portsmouth will never have sufficient funds to meet its obligations laid out in recent meetings. Such efforts will help preserve our current population of residents, and bring new residents to live, work and spend in our city. Following are some important ways to keep us moving forward. Continue reading →