Drawn Out, Sworn In: A Story of Local Redistricting and the Peanut City Miracle

By Lue Ward

It was a surprise when one of the principal members of this endeavor
contacted me to write a foreword. To this dear friend, I thank you for
the opportunity, and more so, for your friendship. I will do my best to
answer accordingly.
I like to think in the shower. Ive never been sure why, but I often
find myself mulling over any range of topics there. It is a refuge of sorts.
A place where the normal distractions of life can be pushed aside, where
my senses fade away and my mind can focus on the topic at hand. It
was there that I found myself in a crisis. I was ignorant, and I didnt
particularly like the idea of that revelation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499038026

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Johnnie Edwards and Lue Ward.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014911095

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 06/23/2014

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Contents

 Foreword

 Preface

 Introduction

 The Most Important Thing in Suffolk Since Moses Riddick

 Drawn Out

 Blindsided

 That Is a Good Question

 A Beautiful Mind

 The Office: Starbacks

 Let’s Settle This Here

 Washington, DC

 Not Legally Viable

 The Decision Is In Your Hands

 I’m Having Dinner

 Incoherent

 It’s All Over, But the Crying

 Elephants

 Testing the Waters

 My Vote

 Time to Move On

 Cancel Christmas

 Luke 15:11-32

 Chip, Chip, Chip

 Cash on Hand: $300

 You Know What To Do- Vote For LUE!

 Weeping May Endure for a Night

 Sworn In

 Acknowledgments

To Wanda

Damien, Jennifer, Sophia, Richard, and Kamille

Jonta, O’Shay, and Kaylen

And

In memory of

Richard and Mamie Ward

Welton Ward

And

T. C. Williams

-Lue Ward

To Mercedes, of course

-Johnnie Edwards

 Foreword

It was a surprise when one of the principal members of this endeavor contacted me to write a foreword. To this dear friend, I thank you for the opportunity, and more so, for your friendship. I will do my best to answer accordingly.

I like to think in the shower. I’ve never been sure why, but I often find myself mulling over any range of topics there. It is a refuge of sorts. A place where the normal distractions of life can be pushed aside, where my senses fade away and my mind can focus on the topic at hand. It was there that I found myself in a crisis. I was ignorant, and I didn’t particularly like the idea of that revelation.

Before I continue, I need say that I am, by no means, implying that I am stupid. I regard myself as someone of reasonable intellect, and I am rather prideful, so I prefer not to let such an impression stand. But regardless of my ego, the insight that I knew significantly less than I realized was unsettling.

It all started amidst the somewhat peculiar pastime of contemplating how to save the world. No, I did not plan to save the world. I had neither the means nor capacity to enact any grand scheme. It was a manner of thought experiment, but inevitably, I would stumble upon something that I could implement in my sphere of influence. Beyond that, it was an enjoyable thing in itself. On this occasion though, I found myself questioning the exercise.

I questioned the idea that I knew how I could make my idea tangible. Why I felt this utopia, even though it belonged solely to the denizens of my mind, could work? With this thought, I began to ask why to every policy that I had erected for this pseudo society. After every answer, I immediately asked why. The expected and eventual result always came back to my mind. At the end of each line of questions, I arrived at the barrier of not having an answer.

The degree that I could resolve each inquiry varied, but inevitably, the results were the same. That wasn’t peculiar. It was surely the case for all of my beliefs and a condition in which all shared this burden. There was always a point at which our knowledge hinged on a well, it just is component—be it in morality, science, or personal preference. We all operate on this faith basis. Our beliefs are built upon a foundation that cannot be explained. We may theorize deeper, but the inevitable wall is always encountered. However the more I considered this, the more I pondered the nature of knowledge itself. Avoiding the question of is it possible to know anything, an endeavor which would certainly lead into circular reasoning; I instead thought about what I could confidently know.

I decided that the means by which we obtain our beliefs can be generally classified in two ways: experience and education; experience, being observation or analysis, by which we construct our belief, and education, being someone or something imparting the belief to us. An example of obtaining a belief though education is knowledge of the structure of a particular plant cell through science lectures. Conversely, an example of experience is knowledge of the structure of a particular plant cells through microscopic observations.

Beliefs gained by education, that is knowledge imparted from someone or something and not observation and analysis, is a product of faith. We accept the authorities of institutions; bodies of science, industry, morality, and their representatives. We collect the experience of these authorities and make their wisdom our own, at our best, believing that collaboration, competition, and controversy will remove the fallacious, and at our worst, regarding the institution themselves as infallible or irrefutable. We place our faith in these institutions and, by extension, the knowledge they disseminate.

My world view was a store of values obtained in this way. Beliefs are not just built upon faith, but they essentially were faith. But what if what I learned through education was disingenuous or incorrect. I wouldn’t know. I didn’t truly know before. I would either faithfully accept correction or stubbornly refute it. The same outcome would be seen when meeting an opposing view.

I was well informed but ignorant. For all the knowledge I believed I have amassed throughout the years, this realization was humbling. I force myself to remember this when I listen to the opinions and beliefs of others.

—Phillip E. T. Everett

 Preface

The concept of writing this book was formulated where most of the action in the story took place: riding along with Lue Ward. We were riding to a meeting, and he was talking about the tactics of the city. He looked at me and said, Johnnie, we need to write a book. I am going to give you my interview now. You ready, quote from Lue Ward: give them hell. The idea was mostly a fantasy and would be revisited from time to time. It was basically abandoned in June of 2012, but after a Thanksgiving conversation with my cousins Keevin and June Edwards, it was resurrected.

This book is our attempt to tell the world our story. We sat down after all the air had cleared and for three weeks retold the story of the Peanut City Miracle. We recounted the story from the beginning and picked events we felt would give the reader a backseat view of our adventure. I went to my study and wrote a twelve-page extended outline. Throughout the redistricting process, I saved every e-mail in a folder and was able to remember many conversations over the year and a half span from those documents.

We did use quotation marks for conversations, but most of the remarks are reconstructed paraphrasing, and not the direct quotes. These conversations were remembered and not recorded. In order to keep the narrative moving, we reconstructed conversations but we are not affirming that the person said those exact words. But it should be noted that every conversation in this book, either Lue Ward or Johnnie Edwards were participants, and we expressed those conversations to the best of our memory.

This again is our story, and all people were written from the vantage point of their responses and reactions toward Lue Ward. We went to the websites of the Suffolk News Herald, Virginian-Pilot, and the New Journal and Guide, and chronicled the events of redistricting and 2012 election. The newspaper articles were quoted, and I rewatched many of the work sessions and city council meetings. All persons mentioned in these public forums were quoted. We also re-read the minutes from the meetings to get an accurate account of the events.

We came back together and once again went over all the information, and we decided if our recollection of the events differed from the data; in all cases, we submitted to the data. We captured how we felt emotionally during these proceedings and recalled our conversations after these events. Our primary goal in writing this book is to tell our story the way we lived it. We decided to not write the book in light of the ending. We wanted the reader to go through the journey every step of the way.

You will receive revelation of events as we received them (although, it may be possible that you will interpret events sooner than we did in real time). This was a learning experience, and we relived it and wrote as if we were in the moment. We would have made different decisions if we would have connected dots earlier, but we did not, and wrote the book in light of both our wisdom and ignorance in those moments.

We had to come to another major crossroad: how honest should we be? You should keep in mind as you read that we did not start this adventure in light of writing a book, so we spoke candidly and in our natural voices. We were human beings who took on a challenge and were bound to our natures. In the end, we decided that neither victory nor defeat could camouflage the actions and/or words we used throughout the process. So we wrote what we did: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ward commonly said during the process, Johnnie, if I do not talk the way people know I talk, the book is not believable. So instead of generic cuss words, we quoted him; and instead of glossing over my own moments of depression and self-destructive behavior, I wrote them. This book is our story, and you cannot edit your life.

The first part of the book was written in my study. The second and third parts were written at Emerson’s Cigar shop and the office: Starbacks. The actual writing took a year to complete because of the research and editing of events. The original authors of the book were to be a series of persons. However, the consensus from these authors was a) they did not have time to write it or b) they could not tell the story like we lived it. So in the end, I took out my laptop and began to write. The previous authors came back together and took out much of the information for the purpose of story flow. The result is our story with their tailoring.

We decided to write the story in a most simple language. The majority of redistricting information is written in legal hieroglyphics. As Ward said at a city council meeting, You need experts to draw a map. An associate minister commented at our town hall meeting, saying that . . .redistricting is about real human beings, and we wanted to give a human side to a process that makes real people feel inept and disenfranchised. We wanted to write a story that anyone could pick up, read, and hopefully understand. We decided to write the story in a narrative form with redistricting being the mystery we were trying to solve. Ward and Edwards are a type of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Redistricting and the election were our cases, and somewhere in the middle, a friendship was built.

Ward and I laughed when we both read the last two words of this story: The End. We could not believe that we did and said most of the things that you will read in the main body of the story, but we did. We often say to each other that we could not do it again. From shutting down his business for two years, to dropping out of graduate school twice, to walking those hot streets; this adventure was lightning in a bottle. We had a great time living it, and we hope you have great time reading it.

 Introduction

All politics are local. This is the most basic understanding of the political process. Elections come down to a collection of people going to a familiar place to cast ballots for people that they have never met. The interesting thing about the American experiment is that people are hard to read. You never know what is the thing or phrase that connects certain people to certain candidates for a certain election. We all complain about being saturated with commercials, mailers, phone calls, and all sorts of advertisements, but they work. People do not have time to research the small tidbits of candidates, so they go with their gut. The basic instinct that guides all of human behavior: I just like them. The sad thing is that many consultants and pundits thrive on this naivety, and simply give us the illusion of what we want.

This mentality leads to well-financed political campaigns that remove the average Joe from the political process and disconnect them from the very thing that makes our country unique. We as Americans want to believe that with hard work, we can do anything and can transform ourselves into anybody. The sad reality is that this notion has been a myth since the inception of our country, but this myth has even lost its mythology. We do not believe anymore, and of all the tragedies of this age, this fact is the saddest. The question we must ask ourselves is, how can we believe again that yes, we can?

This story was lived within the veil of two major personalities: President Barack Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts. The world in 2011-2012 had their attentions turned to Washington, DC, to see if President Obama could resurrect candidate Obama and urge us once again to believe in the impossible. You can only be elected the first black President once, and many believed that the mythology was over. We all became a little more political after 2008 because for the first time in a long time, emerging Americans felt as if they were a part of something larger. Political conversations began to saturate every corner of our lives—from pulpits, barbershops, dinner tables, radio, TV, and even many of the younger generation identified their political views as OBAMA on social media. The world wanted to believe again, but for some reason in 2012 the ecstasy of 2008 was not repeated.

We became different in 2012. The lines were still long, but the joy was not there. The votes were still cast, but not with soulful optimism. During the four years leading to 2012, our country became bitter, and individual agenda became more prominent than the overarching goal of achieving our collective beliefs. We made ourselves believe in a black or white world, but called it right or wrong. We voted to prove our rightness, and not to solve our challenges. The youthful exuberance of 2008 was usurped in 2012, and we became seasoned partisans of an invisible war. Obama was victorious, and the methods and strategy of his data team proved revolutionary. They found and re-motivated America to keep the train of progress moving. The election was won, but the bitterness remained.

The story you are about to read is about one of the last cases that the United States Justice Department reviewed under Section 5 preclearance. The U.S. Congress passed a law in 1965 that certain states and localities in the country had a history of racial discrimination in the area of voting. Virginia was one of those states that failed the litmus test of full enfranchisement, and was placed under this review. This meant that any redistricting map, precinct, and/or polling place change had to be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice before the change could be implemented.

The light of Obama’s victory in November was dampened on June 25, 2013, when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder case. This landmark decision turned the Supreme Court into the taxidermist of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our country was left with a ruling that affirmed the need for Section 5 protection for minorities, but the Section 4 formula that identified the exact location where this protection is needed was deemed outdated. They left the appearance of a ferocious lion that could no longer roar because it had been hunted, skinned, stuffed, and displayed as a fossil of natural history. Chief Justice Roberts took up the pencil of justice, and erased fifty years of Progressive history.

The city of Suffolk, Virginia, was embarking on this process in the summer of 2011, and that is where the story begins. The largest city in Virginia in terms of landmass, on the lower frequencies, was the epicentre of these competing ideologies. This story will examine the relevance of the Section 5 review, and a lower frequencies version of the Chicago data team. You will have the opportunity to follow the case from the backroom of City Hall all the way to Washington, DC. The reader will have the opportunity to make a choice, has this quasi-Shakespearean drama violated the Voting Rights Act, was it predicated on racial or political bias, or was the episode simply much ado about nothing? The story will be told, and you will decide if the adventure was right, wrong, or petty.

You will have the opportunity to judge the actions and decision by both Ward and Edwards. These characters take center stage in this story. You will ride along with them and view the struggle through their lens. This story is written from their perspective, and it does not take the liberty to go into the minds of all persons involved. You will have the advantage of knowing that the city’s map was approved, but then have the opportunity to judge if their effort was misguided, self-serving, or justifiable. You will have to decide if Ward and Edwards’s story is more in line with that of Claudette Colvin’s. This is to say, that redistricting should be challenged, but not this particular case. This narrative will take up Part One of the book.

The story begins with a ride through the city of Suffolk from the southern end. It is important that the reader has a feel of the city and places the main characters view each day. The City Hall is described because the majority of the action in the story will take place in this building. The city officials are described, and the reader has a brief synopsis of the personalities who will shape this decision. The actual work sessions and city council meetings are presented so you can feel as if you are watching the proceedings live. Although this information may not be of much concern to you, it is paramount for understanding the process that will control the first third of the book.

Ward is introduced later, and the reader will get a chance to view the city from its northern end. The reader will follow the process through the mind and eyes of Ward for the remainder of the book. You will have the opportunity to see how he formulated his team and made decision on the fly. The story will move from his car to Starbucks to city hall to Washington DC, and back home. His insight and maturation will help you understand how he advocated through the process.

This section will take the reader to close door meetings with city and state officials. You will also have access to e-mails and telephone conversations between the persons who were working with Ward throughout the redistricting process. Also, you will attend the community meetings and the city meetings that presented and modified the final redistricting map that was sent to the Justice Department for their review. You will also go into an actual Justice Department Civil Rights Division review meeting and attend the Supreme Court case of Perez v. Perry.

Part Two of the book will explore the waiting period, from the first submission of the redistricting map to their final decision in June of 2012. This section will follow Ward and Edwards, and give the reader insight into what they did in between redistricting and Ward’s election. You will see how they came up with the concept of My Vote newspaper, and their adventure as political consultants during the primary season for the 4th Congressional District of Virginia. You will go back to DC for another Justice Department review meeting, and see the events that led to Ward eventually deciding to run for city council. The section ends with Edwards’s departure to Atlanta.

Part Three of the book is the Peanut City Miracle as it has been commonly referred. You will see the reunification of Ward and Edwards in Houston, Texas. You will once again ride with them, and see how they rebounded and prepared for the election. You will walk the hot streets of northern Suffolk and take a seat in their smoke-filled office in southern Suffolk. You will see how they put together their strategy for the November election. The events of November 6, 2012, are described in detail from the dark morning to tense campaign party. The story will end where it began with a ride from City Hall to the southern end of Suffolk.

As stated earlier, this book gives you the opportunity to decide on the rightness or wrongness of the endeavor. We ask you to look for certain themes that are integrated into the story, and hope they give you information and topics to discuss in your perspective sphere of influence. Aspects of this story are currently happening in your world, and we pray that parts of our story encourage you to address those concerns. Redistricting may not be a major concern in your area, but redistricting was our cause and we hope to give you an insight on ways to solve your problem. Each community has issues that are specific to them, and at the same time, each community has a Lue Ward to meet the challenge. Even more specifically, you may be the person you have been looking for, and we hope this story gives you the courage to face your giant.

We hope that you will be inspired to get involved locally. The emergence of technology has globalized our struggle. The sad part of this progress is that our attention is more directed to global and national problems which indirectly cause state and local issues to remain unattended. Our story happened in a small Virginia City with a population of roughly 85,000 persons. We tackled it, because we had the power to make actual change. The same is true about the local issues that you are facing. You do not have to wait 10 years to be engaged. Our biggest regret in this process is that we did not galvanize enough local support for our endeavor. Our prayer is that you do not make this mistake. Issues, large or small, cannot be solved without grassroots advocacy. You have to create a team you can trust, and strategically plan for the outcomes that you desire. Please continue to watch Fox News and MSNBC, but also tune into your local city council and school board meeting. Join a civic league, Rotary Club, Urban League, or a ministry in your church and get active. As Tavis Smiley, said, we do not need another organization but people active in what is already established.

We hope this book inspires you to become a mentor. This story in its most basic form is a story of a man finding a young man, and taking him under his wings. The 21st century world with social media and technology has made us the most intentionally segregated society on earth. We have more information, and opportunities for collaboration in the history of the world, but basic discipleship is lacking. Ward and Edwards were always together in this book. Ward intentionally decided to share this experience and pour out his life into someone else. He gave a young man access to many experiences that without his position and willingness, he would have never experienced. You have your own connections, and we hope as you read this book that you will find a person or persons to collaborate with you on your journey. Some things in life are only learned through experience and mentoring. As the African proverb said, a young man cannot eat with the elders until he first learns to wash his hands. You have a bowl that is full of water. Teach the next generation the proper way to sit at certain tables. You do not have to be the president of anything to be a mentor. If you are a plumber, janitor, gardener, preacher, teacher, superintendent, or whatever, you have something valuable to impart into someone. Use what you have to better someone else.

Ward started his campaign with very little money, but he had a newspaper. Having only a month left in the campaign, he had 247 dollars and was the laughing stock of the community. The difference was that he believed and kept on fighting regardless of the outcome. We hope that you do not view what you have as so little among so many. It is not your job to make anything successful (that’s God’s job), but it is your responsibility to take a step of faith with the materials and gifts you possess. Our prayer is that you will not let your lack stop your greatness. We were forced to turn our limited resources into our greatest strength by strategic planning. We as human beings have the capacity to do anything, if we would just believe. Any individual can make a difference if they decide to serve. We hope that you will see what you have and use it for the betterment of the community.

Lastly, no experience in life is wasted. We knew nothing about redistricting before this adventure began. Ward often quoted Famous Amos who said, Don’t worry about how things will end, just start it, and figure out the rest while you are doing it. We took a step and the people we needed came along when we needed them. Paul Gillis was the voice of logical militancy that was respectfully embraced by Ward. Ward’s effectiveness as leader was aided by Gillis’s advocacy. The city could have ignored Ward if it was not for the agitation of Gillis. Bonnie Girard ran for office and gave Ward and Edwards valuable campaign experience. She decided to take a chance on two men with a dream. She saw something in them that so many overlooked, and gave them the opportunity to fail. The result was they took that failure, modified it and were able to find their niche. Ward had no money for a campaign, but because of the redistricting process, we knew the map better than most. We did not know how to organize a campaign, but Girard turned her campaign over to them. We did not have the Chicago data team, but we learned how to use the Census’s interactive map to find our voters. We were not political consultants, but someone took a chance on us, and we learned by doing.

The moral of this story is simple: you have all the people you need, all the stuff you need, but do you have the courage to try, fail, and try again. Also, our experience had a profound effect on the way we see the world now. We could have kept it all inside and let it bitter our soul, but we decided to tell the world how we felt. It is rare that African American men are affirmed for exercising their Constitutional rights. We decided to do it through First Amendment means instead of Second Amendment. This story is casting light on our personal travails and hurts throughout the process. We wanted to tell our story, our way, and give voice to the other men of our hue whose stories go untold. Regardless of your current situation, your story and struggle have worth, and we hope to give you the courage to express it.

Part One

 The Most Important Thing in Suffolk Since Moses Riddick

 Drawn Out

The summer wind came blowing in from across the sea. It was a normal day in the city of Suffolk, Virginia. James McBride’s first book The Color of Water was partially set within its borders. The city is the largest in land mass in the commonwealth. It has many lakes, and a new emerging population. The city is commonly referred to as a bedroom community, which denotes that many live there, but work elsewhere. The actual elsewhere is just as diverse as the city. Politically, Suffolk is divided into seven boroughs (see Map A): Chuckatuck in the northwest corner, and Sleepy Hole and Nansemond boroughs in the northeast corner. The Holy Neck borough is located in the southwest corner and goes due south to the North Carolina line. The Whaleyville borough is beside Holy Neck to the east, and east of Whaleyville is the Cypress borough. The center and final borough in the city is the old town seat and city name: Suffolk borough.

If you travel the city on Route 13, coming north from North Carolina, you would drive on Carolina Road. This road will lead you pass a sports field that the locals call Peanut Park. This park was packed fifty years ago when then community activist and future Board of Supervisors member Moses Riddick invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to speak to the people. Just as the park is vacant, so too, is the leadership gap since the death of Riddick. This road will end at the stoplight, and if you turn right, you will enter an area called Hall Place. This was the area of town where the executives of the world famous Planters Peanut resided in its heyday. If you decide to keep straight, you will travel along an overpass. The overpass is necessary because underneath it lays a train track. Like most southern cities, the train track is that permanent marker that divides the city by race. The portion of Washington Street east of the train tracks will lead you down to an area commonly referred to by locals as Norfolk Road. The western portion of Washington Street leads you to the western part of the state. If you decide to travel through the light, it will lead you to Main Street.

The building that would attract your attention along Main Street would be the Mills Godwin Courthouse, which is the largest and newest building in an emerging downtown. The courthouse is named after the favorite son of the city, who served two non-consecutive terms as the governor of the Commonwealth. Coming to the first stoplight, you would make a left, and find your way onto Market Street. After you pass through the light, you will drive approximately one half mile to a parking lot that is adjacent to a small two-storied building with the words: MUNICIPAL CENTER 441 on the top right corner commonly referred to as City Hall.

The building is not impressive nor is it awe-inspiring. Its design and persona has an appeal that reminds you of the television show Happy Days. It was built in the 1970s, but looks like the 1950s. This is symbolic of the city itself: the appearance of progress but the soul of years that has faded away. The landscape in front of the building has the appearance of a man with a receding hairline: more dirt than grass. The reason for this phenomenon is the four large trees that are now in full bloom. The shade from the trees blocks the sun, and this impedes the growth of the grass. Market Street itself is identified by a black street sign that gives the onlooker the understanding that their feet are planted in the historical district. This means that all the homes and businesses are sealed within an invisible time capsule that governs its existence. This would explain the red brick pedestrian crossing that connects the parking lot to City Hall.

The building has three entrances: one to the far left corner of the building, which is closed to all but staff and essential personnel; one entrance in the far right corner, which is closed to all because it is surrounded by orange construction tape; and in the middle is the entrance that has been designated for the public. As you walk on the pedestrian crossing, you will see distinct boxes. The right corner has two boxes with similar functions, relating the news, they are usually empty by this time of day: Virginian-Pilot and Suffolk News Herald, and to the left is a mailbox.

The Virginian-Pilot is the flagship newspaper of the entire Hampton Roads area. Its Suffolk office is on Main Street across from the courthouse and contains the office of Jeff Sheler. He is the correspondent who reports political news for the city. He has Midwestern roots, and walks with a certain move of confidence that could be mistaken for arrogance. His hair is completely white, but most people recognize him by his trademark ponytail. The Suffolk News Herald is the local paper that only reports news for and about Suffolkians. The reporter that has the city council beat is Tracy Agnew. She is tall with flowing brown hair, a soft voice, but tough pen. The last box in the middle is the drop off box for the city taxes. This bill is due twice a year in June and December, to be paid by land owners. This box rarely, if ever, has any envelopes that were addressed from citizens in the northeast quadrant of the city. The absence of these new citizens in the drop box is ironically the undercurrent of the political unrest in the city.

The northeast quadrant of the city has emerged from diamond’ in the rough woodlands to the crown jewel of the city. The Harbour View community located in this area has become the home of many wealthy, and educated citizens who have neither integrated with nor embraced, lifelong Suffolkians. The mere presence of this emerging area of the city has created an atmosphere of jealousy and antagonism from the citizens to the south. As one citizen said, it is one thing to be a stepchild, but to be treated like a stepchild when you are the firstborn son of the father is another thing entirely."

The center door, which is the only one that is open to the public, leads to a hospital white hallway. This door being the only entrance to the City Hall on this side is mainly because it has a handicap ramp, but one closed door and another that is blocked for construction, is a metaphor that speaks to the public perception of City Hall. As stated earlier, the door to the far left leads to the city manager’s office which seems closed to the public. In order for you to enter into the waiting area, you have to press a button, state your business, and then you are buzzed in. This process gives credence to the attitude that City Hall is not open to the needs and desires of the citizens. Beside this locked door, you will notice a row of eight parking spaces. These spaces belong to the honorable members of Suffolk’s city council. This parking lot would probably be more fitting on the other side of the building with the closed door for the purpose of construction. These closed doors show both the closeness of the city and the progress it has made since 2006.

The city manager of Suffolk, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, a native of Suffolk’s neighbor to the east, Chesapeake, is a no-nonsense, smart, and sophisticated graduate of the University of Virginia. She was promoted to the top job in 2006 when current Mayor Linda Johnson and council cleaned house in City Hall by firing then City Manager Steve Herbert. The Johnson reform was much needed because the city had only 500,000 dollars in its rainy day fund with million dollars a day operational budget. The backdrop of this gloomy financial situation was only highlighted more by the fact that Moody downgraded the city’s bond rating to single A negative. Cuffee-Glenn with a very conservative budget and reorganization has led the city one-step from the coveted AAA bond rating and over 30,000,000 dollars in the rainy day fund. These initiatives have blossomed to an emerging downtown that was followed by new construction throughout the city but mainly in the northeast quadrant.

The dark cloud over this sunny picture is the perception that this renaissance has mainly benefited one section of the city. This belief has polluted not only the perception of city council, but aides the belief of many that the only door open to the citizens leads to the Commissioner of Revenue office (which tells you how much you are to pay) and the Treasurer’s office (which takes your payment). These offices are aligned in the hallway that leads to the Council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Center, and the entrance to these places is through the center door.

Walking through the hospital style hallway and going up the 21 steps to the second floor of the City Hall, you will make your way into the Council Chambers. The interior of the chambers is decorated with green carpet and a lighter shade of green on the clothed pews. The lower portions of the interior walls are covered with wood panels, and the upper portion has a similar hospital white plaster. The back wall in the chambers is decorated with the pictures of both past and present leaders.

The right side of the chamber has the pictures of the former mayors of the city starting with J. W. Nelms in 1980. The wall includes: Andrew Damiani, who was mayor from 1982-1986, he is best known in the city as an owner of many downtown properties and the famous ‘fruit stand’ that was once occupied on the corner of East Washington Street before you go over the train track and currently houses the new police precinct. He is still very active in the community at the ripe age of 95 and is seen at several council meetings wearing stethoscope style hearing aids. Beside him on the wall, Johnnie E. Mizelle, who was mayor from 1986-1990, he was the first black mayor of the city. Going down the wall, S. Chris Jones, who was mayor from 1992 -1996, mentee of Gov. Mills Godwin, and is currently a member of the House of Delegates representing the city of Suffolk. He is the chief architect of Virginia’s redistricting plan for the lower chamber of the General Assembly, and chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

The left side of the door going into the chamber is decorated with the various Councils who have served the city from 1984 to present. Curtis Milteer is the first current councilman whose picture appears on the wall in the 1984 picture. His presence on Council pre-dates the pictures on the wall. Milteer, who represents the Whaleyville borough of the city, won election after serving on the Planning Commission. He won his election by defeating a white incumbent. The core of his voting base comes from the Saratoga community which is the community of his formative years. At the age of eighty-two, he is the senior most member of council with 32 years of tenure. Milteer was on council in 1986 when four African American males served at the same time (others being Ronald Hart, Johnnie Mizelle, and Enoch Copeland). He served as mayor of the city in 2000-2002.

The 1990 redistricting map changed the face of Council with the removal of the Pughsville Community from the Sleepy Hole borough which helped to elect Mizelle to council. The removal of this community ended Mizelle’s time on council, but created a space for the next member on the current council, Charles Brown. He represents the Cypress borough which has the largest number of Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) citizens. Brown, who was born and reared in North Carolina, is married to Mary Brown of the Chuckatuck region of the city and a retired beloved teacher in the school system. He came on the political scene through his tireless effort as a math tutor for young African American students. He is currently the Vice Mayor of the city and came on Council in 1994.

The next member on the current council, Leroy Bennett, represents the Nansemond borough. Bennett defeated Richard Harris who was a white male representing a majority-minority borough (a majority-minority borough is one that has a BVAP over 50 percent) in 1996. Harris defeated political activist Mary Richardson who was the organizer of the Pughsville community. Bennett’s wife, Susie, like Brown’s wife, is a retired beloved teacher in the African American community, and strong voice at the most powerful African American church in the city, East End Baptist Church. Bennett has emerged as the maverick of the Council by taking a controversial vote against the 2011 budget because of the new recycling fee.

Linda Johnson, the current mayor of the city, makes her appearance on the wall in 2000 replacing the only female on council, Bea Rodgers. Johnson took council by storm in her early years, and was outspoken on the dire financial situation of the city. She often complained about the lack of openness and her inability to receive pertain information to make informed votes. She was selected by the council in 2006 as the first woman mayor of the city, and elected in 2008 in a six-man race. She led the city in the aftermath of a Tornado that destroyed many homes. Her strong leadership, and personal care and concern during the event gave her an overwhelming victory.

Funeral director of the former, Hill Funeral Home and current owner and director of a more appropriate and fitting name: Parr Funeral Home, Charles Parr, was elected to council in 2006. He defeated the mayor at the time, Bobby Ralph, to earn his seat. Parr, along with Linda Johnson, started the Great Council reform of 2006 with the hiring of Selena Cuffee-Glenn as city manager. His political rise was fostered by his bravado and cunning political zeal and expertise of next-door neighbor and chairman of the Suffolk Democratic Party, Art Bredemeyer. Also, in 2006, the Holy Neck borough of the city elected Jeffery Gardy, who is also the law partner of Mayor Linda Johnson’s husband, Jesse James Johnson. He speaks with a cowboy accent. He is usually outfitted in a Matlock style suit and ten-gallon cowboy hat.

Robert C. Barclay, IV appeared on the wall in 2008. He represents the Sleepy Hole borough and replaced Linda Johnson who had to vacate her seat to run citywide for mayor. Quiet but a true student of politics, Barclay came to Council with a smart sophisticated approach to governing. Living in the Harbour View section of the City, he is the voice of the new Suffolk. Michael Duman, represents Chuckatuck, and is the owner of a car dealership. He was elected to council 2010, and is the last new face on the wall. He is a key supporter of Harambee Communications, LLC that is owned and operated by Lue Ward.

The front wall of the chamber contains the city’s seal. The top of the seal has the charter year of 1646 when Nansemond County was incorporated and beside it the year 1742 which signifies when the City of Suffolk was chartered. Below both dates is the year 1974, this was when the county and city merged into one city: Suffolk. The illustration on the seal speaks of the rich history of Suffolk in pictorial form. In the top right corner: colonial bearded soldier, in the bottom left corner: a fish, the other two corners contain: farming and industrial, and in the middle of it all: the peanut. The seal is in the middle of four flags: United States, Commonwealth of Virginia, City of Suffolk, and the Hampton Roads area. These symbols are the backdrop behind the dais that seats the governing body of the city.

The city of Suffolk chose for itself a Council-Manager form of government. This style of government designates the mayor as the ceremonial leader. The mayor only has one vote like the other seven councilmen, but does have the prerogative to assign committees, and arrange the council seating on the dais. As Councilman Brown informed the citizens, the job of the council is to set policy, and it is the job of the city manager to execute the policies of Council. The manager along with the city’s Assessor, Attorney (C. Edward Roettger) and Clerk are the only people who are hired by the council.

Closing their car doors, and walking into the door of the Municipal building that is designated for staff, the Suffolk City Council members make their way to the chamber. They all came in at different times, but found their way to the dais around 5:00 p.m. on July 20, 2011. The entrance from the back of the chamber has two doors, which ushers the councilmen based on their seating. If you were seated in the audience looking toward the dais, the door to your right has a hallway with the same hospital white motif of the first floor. Through this door, Councilman Bennett, who sits beside City Attorney Roettger, usually comes out first.

The tall slender man with a salt and pepper goatee usually takes his seat with poise and confidence. He is usually followed by Milteer, who has gray, wavy hair and liver spots that are more visible because of his light skin and wrinkled face, and who moves slower now than he did 20 years ago. He comes to his seat that is on the last spot on the dais beside the city clerk, Erika Dawley. The last member of Council who usually comes through this door is Parr. The self-made businessman walks into the chamber like a gladiator in the arena. The only difference is that he views himself as both the warrior and Caesar. He loves to impose the strength of his presence on all those who dare challenge his mastery of the art of power, but unlike the gladiator, he does not look to the crowd or Caesar for his next move. He is the one with golden thumb, and it is by his omniscience that he persuades others to follow his logic. He sits in between Bennett and Milteer on the dais. Ed Roettger comes into the chamber in the hidden door beside the Hampton Roads flag. His entrance into the chamber is similar to his appearance on the dais: quiet and unremarkable. His baldhead and circular glasses are his distinguishing features.

The side door to the far left of the chamber opens, and Rob Barclay enters. He is a very quiet man. The roar of this lion is only seen when a confusing, obscure point of the law is brought before the council. This is when he proves his worth. Seated beside him on the far right end is Mike Duman. He takes the position as the person of reason on the council. He is known to take different opinions from his fellow councilman, but he always gives a sound reason for his aye or nay vote. Standing to the left of Barclay is Jeff Gardy. He stands before the meeting starts because of the pain that is in his knee. He hovers over his chair until the exact time when it is necessary for him to sit. That moment