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About the Race
The Portsmouth City Council election is held on November 3, 2020, in conjunction with the U.S. presidential election. It is an at-large election to fill all three open seats on the City Council. Candidates De’Andre Barnes, Ed Brown, Dante Walston, and Councilwoman Lisa Lucas-Burke are running against Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas, Mark Hugel, Nathan Clark, Ambakey Bolden, Ted Lamb, and former Councilman Mark Whitaker.
About the District
Portsmouth is an independent city in Hampton Roads, which is located on the Elizabeth River’s western side. It has a population of approximately 100,000. The city reliably votes Democratic in presidential elections, with every Democratic presidential candidate of the last twenty years winning with over 60% of the vote. However, the city still has some conservative values, as evidenced by the City Council’s decision to declare Portsmouth a Second Amendment sanctuary city.
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De’Andre Barnes is a public school teacher who currently serves on the Portsmouth School Board. During his time on the school board, five schools in Portsmouth earned a Virginia State Board honor for academic improvements. He is running for city council on a platform of transparency and open communication with Portsmouth residents.
Barnes’s worked to increase and optimize investment in technology in the classroom and improve the performance of low-income schools in Portsmouth while on the School Board.
Barnes opened lines of communication with the community during the COVID crisis, using his Facebook page to announce and post recordings of School Board meetings and ensure that students still had access to education during the quarantine.
Barnes is vocal about the impact that Portsmouth’s high crime rate has on students. He is passionate about preventing minors’ untimely deaths due to violence, accidents, and suicide in the city.
Barnes supports organizations that work to reintegrate veterans back into their communities. He has attended peaceful protests in support of racial justice.
Barnes is open to bringing casinos to Portsmouth to create an entertainment district that will drive economic growth and hosted an open forum to hear input from the community on the matter.
Ed Brown is a public school teacher who is passionate about investing in youth and education. He has served as the head of the Portsmouth Parks and Recreation Commission as well as the Museums and Fine Arts Commission. He has been elected president of the Churchland Middle School PTA and helped organize Portsmouth’s “Restoration of Rights” clinic to restore rights to formerly incarcerated individuals.
Brown supports public safety initiatives to combat the increase in Portsmouth crime. Brown believes that the council should support and fund initiatives that can decrease crime without relying solely on heavy police presence in neighborhoods. Those initiatives include city grants to make sure streets are well-lit, citizen watch groups, and teen employment and recreation.
Brown is passionate about community violence issues, particularly those that affect Portsmouth youth, and has spoken at anti-violence rallies in partnership with Democrats for a More Progressive Portsmouth.
A believer in the community and public health benefits of parks and other public recreation spaces, Brown wants to increase the land used for public recreation and the number of parks in Portsmouth. He also thinks that more parks and other recreation spaces will attract new people to move to Portsmouth and drive economic growth.
Lisa Lucas-Burke is an experienced community leader who has served on the Portsmouth City Council since 2016. She has also served as the president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Portsmouth Alumnae Chapter. In addition to being on City Council, she also serves on the Portsmouth Partnership Board of Directors and is chair of the Portsmouth Economic Development Authority.
Lucas-Burke is dedicated to public safety issues and believes that police-community relations are important in bringing down crime rates effectively and safely. She supported common-sense gun violence prevention legislation and voted against a proposal to make Portsmouth a Second Amendment sanctuary city.
After protestors partially removed the Confederate monument in Portsmouth and a man was critically injured, Lucas-Burke voted to remove the monument.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Steering Committee, an organization that works to honor and continue the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., endorsed Lisa Lucas-Burke in her run for City Council.
Dante Walston is a music teacher with a deep passion for Portsmouth and an interest in local issues. He is running on a progressive platform pushing for change and transparency.
Walston will invest in infrastructure to improve the quality of life in Portsmouth. Walston supports repairing roads and creating an infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians so that city residents can live healthier and more mobile lives. He believes that investing in infrastructure will reduce crime by ensuring that areas are well-lit at night and easily accessible to first responders.
Given Portsmouth’s vulnerability to flooding, Walston supports taking proactive steps to improve flooding response. In the long-term, he wants to take flooding prevention measures, including seeking state funding to address chronic flooding issues in Portsmouth.
Walston believes the best way to reduce crime in Portsmouth is through community involvement and proper investment in first responders, with a particular focus on raising the salaries for 911 operators, so they do not leave Portsmouth for similar jobs in other cities.
Walston argues that toll roads around downtown Portsmouth have severely hindered economic growth and wants to see them removed or curtailed.
Walston believes that the City Council leadership must be proactive in creating an environment for economic growth. He intends to create support mechanisms for small businesses in Portsmouth, including tax incentives for business owners to move to Portsmouth after COVID-19.
Councilman Nathan Clark is a Republican who is outspoken about protecting police. Clark is a strong supporter of gun rights and open carry laws. He has even brought an AR-15 style rifle to City Council meetings.
Incumbent Elizabeth Psimas has not expressed any opinions on progressive issues and has yet to put forward substantial platforms. Psimas voted in favor of turning Portsmouth into a Second Amendment sanctuary.
Ted Lamb is somewhat progressive on education and economic development, such as his plan to increase funding for resources to enhance existing education programs (STEM and College First). Still, he is silent on racial issues and the impact of climate issues, such as flooding.
No statements or priorities put forward by candidate Mark Hugel express explicit opinions on matters of progressive policy.
Candidate Ambakey Bolden has stated that he wishes to run “a positive campaign, built on integrity and honesty.” He has yet to put forward any substantial policies or statements about a platform.
Former Councilman Mark Whitaker was convicted of forging loan paperwork for his church in 2018. He had his civil rights restored by Gov. Ralph Northam in 2019 and is now running to regain his seat on the City Council. Whitaker has yet to put forward a concrete plan or make any public statements regarding his renewed council run beyond his support of racial justice. He was not present for the City Council vote to turn Portsmouth into a Second Amendment sanctuary city.
Candidate Tamara Shewmake currently serves on the City of Portsmouth School Board.
Though her campaign site shares limited information, she does state that she would support and advocate for education, public safety, economic growth and climate change preparation.
Shewmake’s previous School Board campaign platform focused on early literacy, financial literacy and vocational training. She expressed commitment to ensuring an equal and high quality education for all children throughout the City of Portsmouth. As a School Board member, she has advocated for additional funds for education and technology, citing the lack of available resources such as Chromebooks, iPads, or wifi.
In her School Board capacity, Shewmake worked to build support systems for vulnerable students, emphasizing the need to train teachers to recognize signs of distress, and advocates for greater access to mental health support in public school systems.
Shewmake acknowledges that lack of available resources is one of the biggest challenges facing teachers and believes that prioritizing community engagement and specific funding will help begin to address this problem.
Beyond voicing her support for education, public safety, economic growth and climate change preparation, Shewmake does not go into further detail about her platform or her plans for Portsmouth if elected to City Council.
Portsmouth City Council - No rec
About the Race
About the Race
The election for President of the United States is on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Former Vice President and Senator from Delaware Joe Biden (D) is running against the current president, Donald J. Trump (R), a businessman and former reality television star.
About the State
Every eligible voter may cast a ballot in the presidential election. The majority of the U.S. population has voted Democratic for the last twenty-eight years, except 2004. However, the allocation of electoral college votes led to Republicans taking the White House in two of those seven elections. Turnout is typically higher during presidential election years, though 2018 saw the highest record turnout for a non-presidential election since 1914, with 50.3% of the electorate turning out to vote. Turnout for the 2016 election was at 55.7%. In 2008, when the nation elected President Barack Obama (D), turnout was 58.2% but dropped to 54.9% in 2012.