Why is it important for Norfolk's employees and retirees to band together to support candidates for City Council? The City Council decides if employees are considered at budget time, what our benefits will be, whether the retirees get a cost of living adjustment or not, if health care increases are passed on to the employees and retirees. Those are some pretty good reasons why every employee and retiree should care who is calling the shots. We have not had a raise in the last two budget cycles, and it isn't looking too good for next year either. If we use our voting strength -- over 1,000 employees living in Ward 7 -- and turn out the vote, we can begin to make a difference in our futures -- the American way, with our vote! Ask yourself this question, if we show the City Council that we have the voting strength to put people in office, would we get better treatment? We need a pay-it-forward movement where each of you reading this commit to vote for Hawkins and influence 4 others to vote on November 2nd!
COPE Survey Candidate Responses: Ward 7 -- Phillip J. Hawkins, Jr. *ELECT* Ward 7 -- Angelia Williams Ward 7 -- Earl P. Fraley Ward 7 -- Jimmy D. Wilson
COPE sent a six-question survey to each of the four candidates for the Ward 7 Council seat. The questions are the same ones that we sent to candidates last Spring -- same issues, same questions. Click on the candidate name (above) to see how each responded to the specific questions relating to employee wage increases, retiree benefits, and being made one of the City's priorities.
Why did COPE make the decision to endorse Phillip Hawkins?
First and foremost we liked his answers to our questionnaire (click on the link above). Some of the members have had personal experience with Phillip, and find him to be a man of integrity and passion for the community he serves. Phillip Hawkins is well educated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business, with an emphasis in Finance and a Masters of Arts in Urban Education with an emphasis in Administration and Supervision. He has hands down the best track record of community involvement. Hawkins will truly be the voice of the people he will represent, and has been that voice already for many years. Further, we feel Phillip will make the employees and retirees a priority and not continue to ignore us, as the current incumbents have (excluding our two newest Council members Smigiel and Protogyrou who have said they would make the employees a priority too).
Who NOT to vote for?
Phillip's biggest competitor will be Angelia Williams. Williams is exactly who we do not want on City Council. With the Mayor's political machine backing Angelia Williams, it is a clear indication that she would be a rubber stamp for for whatever Mayor Fraim wants. She has little experience and only an Associate Degree and a 10-weekend course on Political Leadership under her belt. In many of the forums, Angelia actually asks people to vote for her because she is "the only woman on the ballet." Ms. Williams says she supports televising the council meetings, noting one of the reasons as being because she "looks good on camera." These kinds of comments are just plain demeaning to women, as if a woman would vote for someone just because they are female or looks good on camera!
Of the other two candidates, we found Earl Fraley to have some good ideas, but when asked if he had any loyalties to the current City Council, he had answered, the Mayor, Paul Riddick and Anthony Burfoot. That is a voting block we did not want to add to, so COPE could not endorse Earl Fraley, just like we could not endorse Angelia Williams to add to that same voting block. We need independent thinkers and independent voters on City Council.
COPE officers did not have an opportunity to spend much time with Jimmy Wilson, however, he seems to want to fix what is broken in Norfolk, like all the candidates. We did not choose Wilson because he just doesn't have the community track record that Phillip does. Other factors affecting our endorsement include: comments made at other candidate forums, other endorsements, how our interview questions were answered, who made time to speak to our members, all boiling down to who we felt would be the best person for Ward 7 and who we feel will relate to the needs of employees and retirees.
COPE members unanimously decided to endorse Phillip J. Hawkins, Jr. for Norfolk City Council in Ward 7!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! COPE members and other Norfolk employees are stepping up to support Phillip Hawkins for the November 2nd Special election by volunteering to drop literature, plant signs, make phone calls and knock on doors! Won't you join us? If you can spare two hours to volunteer on any day between now and November 2nd, but especially on October 23rd, 24th, 30th, 31st or on November 2nd, please call Jane Bethel at 470-6276 (Cell).