THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080573
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10D EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
James W. Holley III's victory leaves a lot of questions about how the council will meet the call for economic development, a lower crime rate and better schools. The mayor-elect is cool to the current council's Vision 2005 economic development plan. Meanwhile, two supporters of Vision 2005 were re-elected as was a newcomer backed by a pro-business group.
Over the past 20 years, the life of James W. Holley III and the city's political history have been closely intertwined.
Holley, 69, has been mayor and vice mayor and served on the council for 19 years altogether. His career has gone through three phases:
Rising city leader. Holley, a dentist, made his name as a civil rights leader in Portsmouth. He helped open Portsmouth's public libraries and golf courses to black residents.
He honed those skills as a civic leader and politician and was elected to the council in 1968, in the exciting years of African-American advances in the South. Funny and popular, he won biracial acceptance in Portsmouth.
At the top. In 1978, Holley became vice mayor and in 1984 the city's first African-American mayor. He kept up his flamboyant public persona, tooling around the city in a silver Corvette with the vanity license plate HIZONOR.
Portsmouth was doing well. The shipyards were busy from the national military buildup, Tower Mall was busy and several other large employers kept residents working. City taxes were lower than ever.
Suddenly, in 1987, the controversy over I.C. Norcom High School produced a hate-mail scandal, and Holley was implicated. That, combined with allegations of lavish spending by Holley, led to a voter recall in December that year, forcing him from office in apparent disgrace.
Rebuilding. Holley consistently maintained his innocence, and he stayed active in politics. For a while, it seemed he had lost his touch. He lost two elections badly, including an effort to unseat state Del. Kenneth Melvin in 1993.
But in the meantime, times had turned tough for Portsmouth. Employers and most of its major retail left town. Crime rose, and so did city taxes.
Gloria Webb, mayor since Holley left office, had helped pick up the pieces after his bitter recall campaign. She said the city was starting to rebound from its slump. But when Holley launched a campaign for mayor this year, he blamed Portsmouth's troubles on her administration.
Holley has promised to return Portsmouth to the good times it saw 10 to 15 years ago - and in a triumphant act of political renewal, he apparently convinced enough voters that he can do it. MEMO: Staff writer Toni Whitt contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: The Virginian-Pilot file photo
1984: James W. Holley III at the height of his political career, the
night he became the first African-American mayor of Portsmouth.
The Virginian-Pilot file photo
1987: Down but never out, Holley managed a smile while the returns
on the board behind him showed his recall from office.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH MAYOR'S RACE ELECTION RESULTS by CNB