Schools
Chesapeake Schools have long been the envy of other school systems throughout the Commonwealth. I am a product of Virginia Public Schools and I recognize the value that came from my instruction. We need to continuously elevate educational standards, school safety, teacher and staff pay.
We must also recognize that part of raising educational standards is to get back to classroom sizes that allow our educators to do their best work. School overcrowding has become a serious issue in Chesapeake. The current Chesapeake City Council has not been willing to adequately address the need for more schools or the ability to say NO to developers who seek profit over community concerns.
Development
This subject is one that dominates the conversations and actions that occur most commonly in Chesapeake City Council deliberations. Often, the same representatives of the developers show up not only week after week, but they also show up many times for different proposed developments in the same session. Development is an area that I believe, is totally out of control with the current City Council in Chesapeake.
Every member of the present City Council has taken tens of thousands of dollars from real estate, construction and developer interest. I pledge not to take a dime from them. We need to examine the proposed projects on their own merits. These include, present citizen's quality of life, school capacity, road capacity, proximity infrastructure and environmental impacts.
There is also a need to rehabilitate, reuse and infill the areas in our city that have already been developed. Many of these areas are asking for more businesses, housing and city services.
They already have the necessary water and sewer lines, roads and utilities, first responder staff, libraries, schools that are below capacity, parks and other foundations of what it takes to make high quality of life in urban and suburban settings.
The currently practiced idea of developing the Southern part of our City and leaving the Northern part behind, is not sustainable. Let's support preserving agriculture and environmentally sensitive areas instead of threatening them.
Police, Fire, Teachers and all City Employees
We need to fully fund our Schools, Police and Fire Departments. Training, gear, equipment and supplies are very important to each of their missions. We also need to be able to hire the best and be able to retain the best. That is why I will also advocate for collective bargaining rights for all of these divisions as well as for all City of Chesapeake employees. For too long, our front line workers have been paid too little. It is time for the workers to be able to advocate for themselves through their chosen representatives. This will allow the free market to determine a professional, fair wage and benefit package for our dedicated, city employees.
Election Reform
Chesapeake has prospered greatly in some of our boroughs, some boroughs have been been left behind. Some of the roads, schools, parks and public facilities are much better maintained in some areas, than in others. The City needs to have a Ward System with each of the boroughs having their own representative. This will allow each section of the City to be equally represented. It will also more importantly, hold that elected official accountable for the progress that has been made in their own home district. This will create a greater equity and a greater voice for every section of the City. City Council would through a ward system, have to work for the greater good for the entire City.
Recycling
It is imperative that we return to a curbside recycling program for Chesapeake as soon as possible.e The decision to remove the program was based on politics, not practicality. Thousands of tons of recyclables are going into the landfill. A modern city such as Chesapeake should do better, and it citizens deserve better.
Public Transportation
Chesapeake has many very different communities. Many are urban, some suburban and we also have rural areas. Current funding for Chesapeake's Transit system with HRT currently only allows buses to run until 7 pm. The number of routes is also very limited. These routes also go no further south than Cedar Rd.
A look at the 2020 census shows that the unemployment rate in the 23324 zip code is more than double that of the 23322 zip code. There are lots of job vacancies in the 23322 area, but not a lot of transit options to get people who need jobs, to those jobs. Also, many of the jobs available in the service industry are evening jobs that require working past 7 pm.
I will propose looking past the current confinments and funding Hampton Roads Transit to adequately serve our citizens.
