THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410230054
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
Vice mayor Paul R. Riddick is getting things done because he makes a lot of noise on a council accustomed to quiet diplomacy and unanimous public votes.
In the past few months, after Riddick raised his voice and adamantly stated his position, the council:
Dropped the proposed Brambleton Avenue bypass - which the neighborhood there opposed - from a resolution endorsing a Norfolk State expansion plan.
Gave city workers a 3 p.m. deadline in which to pick up all trash. However, the deadline appears to disrupt anefficiency plan to move that department to a four-day, 10-hour day work week. City officials are discussing relaxing the deadline to 4 p.m. to avoid this.
Asked the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority to rename Stonebridge Crossing - a planned redevelopment project near Norfolk State - Liberty Park to be more in sync with the history of the area.
Dropped plans to require business owners to remove the graffiti from their outside walls. Instead, the council is backing a $10 annual business tax that will fund city removal.
Council members acknowledge the trend. They say Riddick often gets his way partly because he has good ideas and partly because the council wants to avoid a split, especially along racial lines.
Riddick, Herbert Collins and the Rev. Joseph N. Green Jr. are the three black members on the seven member council.
``I don't think there is any question about Paul's willingness to speak his mind - I'm in that class, too,'' Councilman Randy Wright said. In addition, ``there's always a sensitivity on the council when it relates to racial issues, and a lot of time those are the issues he brings up.''
But this pattern isn't just about race. Riddick, Wright and Collins are products of the ward system that began in 1992, when Riddick was first elected. It is producing more populist politicians. Riddick, Wright and Collins are far more willing to speak their minds or play to the crowds, with Riddick simply the loudest of the three.
It's really a clash of cultures. The more senior members, like Mayor Paul Fraim and Councilman Andrews, struggle to keep newer members like Riddick within the traditional council culture of cooperation, compromise and consensus. They sometimes give way when Riddick or another member really makes a fuss about an issue. But the council's public decisions are not always fully realized in actuality.
Riddick said he makes his vocal stands because he has fought a long time for ``a place at the table'' and now he wants to make the most of it for his constituents.
``I take being a councilman very seriously,'' Riddick said.
Riddick said he wants to ensure citizens keep getting services such as trash collection and libraries while the city focuses on downtown projects such as the MacArthur Center and Nauticus.
``We can't let people believe that services will be lacking because of initiatives we are taking,'' Riddick said.
Wright said he has softened his rhetoric. He said he accomplishes more now through quieter negotiations with city officials. He said he believed Riddick would gradually soften his voice.
Although Riddick often carries the day in public, he doesn't always win in the long run.
The Brambleton Avenue bypass is still on the city's master road plan, although even one of its chief backers, Councilman Andrews, now doubts it will ever be built.
The development Stonebridge Crossing will probably keep that name, council members say, because housing authority officials ignored the council's direction.
City officials are still studying the $10 graffiti tax. The 3 p.m. deadline on trash pickup will probably be changed to 4 p.m., after private conversations with city officials on the deadline's effects, Fraim said.
In effect, some council members allow Riddick to win publicly with the knowledge that positions taken then aren't necessarily final.
``The vice mayor is fairly vocal and firm in his opinions,'' Mayor Paul Fraim said. ``But simply because other members aren't willing to publicly disagree with him, that doesn't mean that we agree with him all the time.''
Fraim said it was true that a vocal member of council at first has more say because the council values consensus. ``But that only holds true for so long,'' Fraim said.
``This council has only been together a few months. We're still getting used to how we deal with each other.''
Riddick's stands, usually taken in the informal discussion in the council conference room, aren't the only reason the council acts on an issue. In the Brambleton Avenue bypass, three churches packed the council chamber with more than 100 people. And Wright already had worked on a proposal similar to the $10 graffiti tax ultimately backed by the council.
The council is divided between old-style council members such as Mason C. Andrews, who was elected at large, and new style members such as Riddick who was first elected under the ward system. The council deserves some credit for working so well together, several members said.
``I believe this council has one of the best chances of making this city a more equitable place,'' Riddick said, because of the council's combination of seasoned and more populist members. ``Regardless of circumstances, I think we all have a great deal of respect for each other.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL by CNB