PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Thursday night, people in Portsmouth heard from some of the candidates vying for five city council seats.
Three of them are incumbents: Councilmen Bill Moody, Paul Battle and Chris Woodard.
This possible shakeup comes after months of tension among the council.
Between lawsuits, heated meetings and the sudden firing and hiring of city managers, the candidates said they want to move the city forward.
Out of the 11 candidates, only seven participated in the forum Thursday night: Councilman Moody, Ronald Diggs, Sharon Anderson, Donna Sayegh, Mark Hugel, Councilman Woodard, and Nathan Clark.
Many of the candidates were asked how they plan to resolve the current turmoil among council.
Moody said he wants to start going on retreats with his fellow council members again to formulate plans to address citizens' concerns and vision for the city.
"Good councils respect one another’s opinion," he said. "They should disagree in a very professional manner. I think it’s called disagree without being disagreeable."
Diggs said once the council establishes teamwork, some of the current problems will change.
"We have too much change in our leadership in Portsmouth. City manager, city manager, city manager. We have to get some consistency in our leadership."
Anderson said the city deserves transparency and integrity. She said she decided to run because she was disappointed in the direction the city is going.
"We have to communicate with each other on all matters. Nothing should be a surprise. Nothing should be hidden."
Sayegh said if someone asks her a question about what's going on, she'll answer honestly.
"A leader tries to work with people and not try and dominate and control them."
Clark was asked about the $5.35 million lawsuit filed by former City Manager Angel Jones and how he thinks it will impact the city. He said it will likely have a multi-faceted impact, but people on council that are doing things that warrant lawsuits like this one should be "eradicated."
He also said they need to stop the in-house problems and promote the city in a positive light.
All of the candidates touched on how vital it is to work on gun violence and police department staffing in Portsmouth.
Hugel could not make it to the forum but sent a spokesperson on his behalf.
"Public safety is my top priority. All Portsmouth citizens should be safe at home, at work, at school and in public."
Woodard said he has already seen positive change under City Manager and former Police Chief Tonya Chapman.
"This will be a ghost town if we don’t take crime seriously," he said.
Moody said the Portsmouth Police Department is currently down around 90 officers. He said they need to kickstart an aggressive recruiting campaign, offer competitive pay and continue utilizing different types of technology.
In that same vein, Clark was asked about a plan to address bigger crowds, DUIs and potentially more crime when Rivers Casino opens.
"We’re already stressed with our police response and our EMS response and calls for service," he said. "You can only imagine that with an increased population in the city, there will be increased calls for service."
He said believes the police department should have a partnership with the private security at the casino and focus on enforcement.
Anderson, Diggs and Woodard were all asked about future development and bringing new businesses into the city.
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Diggs said they need to be engaging with the big businesses already in the city to build stronger relationships, as well as working to bring in new big businesses. He said the city needs to do more to expand job opportunities.
He went on to say they need to look at their existing waterfront property and expand on that.
Woodard said the city needs and deserves a lot of development.
"We are so behind."
Anderson said the city needs to streamline the application process for new businesses. She said based on how extensive and complicated the current process is, it's driving potential businesses away. Anderson said businesses are also looking at the crime rate and school division before deciding to open up shop, so the city needs to get that part in order as well.
Councilman Moody also made it clear at the beginning of the forum, he does not want to be lumped in with any council members that are being accused of corruption.
"Do not tag me with the four members of council who have allegedly done corruption."
LaKeesha "Klu" Atkinson, LaKesha "Onyx" Hicks, Councilman Paul Battle and Vernon Tillage did not attend.
The forum also hosted Portsmouth school board candidates, but Arnette McSwain was the only one of the five candidates who participated.