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As early voting approaches, mayoral and city council candidates joined the Suffolk News-Herald in a forum to discuss the issues facing Suffolk.

The forum was held on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront. Candidates with opposition in their respective races were invited to attend. All mayoral candidates were in attendance. Whaleyville City Council incumbent LeOtis Williams was the only council candidate not present. Williams did not respond before the deadline, but the night before the forum, he communicated that he “may attend” but never showed up. 

The forum was moderated by Boone Newsmedia Inc. President/CEO and Smithfield Times Publisher Steve Stewart, who was the publisher of Suffolk News-Herald from 2012 to 2015. 

Topics ranged from collaboration with the Suffolk Public School Board to whether Port 460 was a good decision. The nearly 200 in attendance and those watching via Facebook Live had an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates.

During the mayoral forum, growth and infrastructure were cited as the biggest issues facing the city of Suffolk. 

David Bosselman said the city has taken a growth approach but that more thought and vision are needed before action is taken. 

“We have taken on this growth approach and we’ve been growing rapidly, and then we try to catch up and play the game of trying to fix what we’ve created in this development,” he said. “And I know that you have to figure out ways to pay for these roads, but you have to have your roads, your infrastructure, your police and fire departments, your rescue squads, you have to have your schools in line to take on this growth … We need to do such things as having some vision and some thought ahead of time before we do all this.”

Duman agreed but noted growth is a “challenge” rather than a problem, saying the idea of people moving to Suffolk is not a problem. Duman pointed out that the money for infrastructure improvements has to come from somewhere — citing that “almost 50% of all the money that’s needed for roads comes from the state of Virginia, based on what is called Smart Scale funding.”

“The formula for Smart Scale, when it’s weighed, is about 47% based on congestion. So you have to get congestion before you get a bunch of money. So basically, you have to have a problem…you can’t get any money because you have a problem. It’s hard to get ahead of it. It’s almost impossible to get ahead of it. So, you’re kind of always chasing your tail …”

For Jenkins, he discussed roads and infrastructure being a priority, noting Route 17 and 58 being “jammed up” with traffic and drainage problems.

“Believe it or not, there is no allocated funding for secondary roads. I learned that in the General Assembly – there’s no allocated funding for secondary roads. So I submitted legislation to help with 58, 460, and 17. So, we need funding for those roads so that doesn’t fall on the locality,” Jenkins said. 

When Stewart asked whether Port 460 was the right decision or the wrong decision, the results varied. 

Jenkins said he did not support the project because, at the time, there was no state funding for it. Bosselman said he “hated” seeing the decision handed down because he felt it would bring warehouses to a different sector of the city. Duman said the decision was a difficult one and noted that the vast majority of decisions made involve balancing the pros and cons. 

Moving to the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, postponed at the Aug. 21 City Council meeting, Stewart asked candidates what steps each of them would like to see taken between now and the November 20 meeting.

Duman says he is looking for a transportation plan that did not come with the 2045 plan.

“I think it’s incumbent upon us to have that, not only for our citizens but for future planning and for developers to know how and where we plan on additional infrastructure being built to accommodate whatever growth is projected within the comprehensive plan,” Duman said.

Jenkins said he doesn’t believe in “pushing stuff on my constituents.”

“I’ll always like to give them a choice and input as to the direction that the city goes,” Jenkins said. “So what I would do is work on public transportation, the light rail, and work with the state and federal government to get some of that, those federal funds in here to release some of those congestions in the area.”

Bosselman said the comprehensive plan should be a vision of where the city moves forward. He also said the 2045 plan, as it relates to the 2035 plan, has led directly to overcrowding and other issues throughout Suffolk. The 2045 plan would increase the development in Suffolk and should be put to the side, and the city should revert to the 2035 plan. 

“This is what our citizens want to see [in] this city. This is the type of thing we need to keep our quality of way of life here,” he said.

You can watch the City Council forum Here.