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Cat Porterfield Your Best Choice for a Bold Voice
What I bring
This is a pivotal moment in Virginia Beach's history and it’s important citizens have an option this election cycle to vote for passionate and visionary leadership aligned with the public, and not private interests.
I am a wife, mother, Realtor, and award-winning journalist with a background in print journalism, specifically military and local news coverage including reporting on government bodies – like city councils. I’ve pored over school and city budgets. I’ve followed capital improvement projects from concept to completion. I have fully immersed myself in all of the things that make a community work and gained a broad knowledge base regarding the workings of a city. A great local paper celebrates the victories of a community while also watchdogging local government. A great council person would do the same and use the seat to keep citizens informed and engaged while serving without fear or favor. That person should come to the seat without special interests and would therefore never have the need to abstain or state a conflict. I can do that. I have been married for 19 years to a U.S. Navy veteran and son of a Navy Commander who grew up in Virginia Beach and moved our family here as soon as the opportunity presented itself – he is our city’s biggest fan. Our son, who is a Junior at Cox High School, is a shining example of the quality of Virginia Beach Public Schools and his teachers at W.T. Cooke, Virginia Beach Middle, First Colonial High, and now Cox. We have two grown daughters, a grandson, and a granddaughter who have all called Virginia Beach home.
This is going to be a historic City Council election in Virginia Beach with newly formed voting districts that represent our unique areas in this city and have allowed for six seats on our council to be up for election. The 10-district system allows for greater community representation while not diluting minority votes and gives residents a dedicated representative on the city council. I support this system and I want to see it in action. This is a chance for our citizens to vote for new leadership and help right this ship.
I am a wife, mother, Realtor, and award-winning journalist with a background in print journalism, specifically military and local news coverage including reporting on government bodies – like city councils. I’ve pored over school and city budgets. I’ve followed capital improvement projects from concept to completion. I have fully immersed myself in all of the things that make a community work and gained a broad knowledge base regarding the workings of a city. A great local paper celebrates the victories of a community while also watchdogging local government. A great council person would do the same and use the seat to keep citizens informed and engaged while serving without fear or favor. That person should come to the seat without special interests and would therefore never have the need to abstain or state a conflict. I can do that. I have been married for 19 years to a U.S. Navy veteran and son of a Navy Commander who grew up in Virginia Beach and moved our family here as soon as the opportunity presented itself – he is our city’s biggest fan. Our son, who is a Junior at Cox High School, is a shining example of the quality of Virginia Beach Public Schools and his teachers at W.T. Cooke, Virginia Beach Middle, First Colonial High, and now Cox. We have two grown daughters, a grandson, and a granddaughter who have all called Virginia Beach home.
This is going to be a historic City Council election in Virginia Beach with newly formed voting districts that represent our unique areas in this city and have allowed for six seats on our council to be up for election. The 10-district system allows for greater community representation while not diluting minority votes and gives residents a dedicated representative on the city council. I support this system and I want to see it in action. This is a chance for our citizens to vote for new leadership and help right this ship.
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I'll help keep us above water
The reckless approval of development is exacerbating flooding issues even as the city works through Phase 1 of its $568 million plan to fight the threat of rising sea levels and stormwater. The next big storm could hit tomorrow, yet the city council continues to green-light projects that eliminate stands of old-growth trees and carelessly allow more concrete to be poured eliminating much of our natural defenses against flooding. As the city facing the largest threat of catastrophic flooding on the east coast, we need to be hyper-vigilant about the environmental and health, and safety impact of any proposed development.
Let's also reward those citizens who decide to un-pave patios and driveways in favor of natural materials such as crushed shells or use pervious surfaces for outdoor home improvement projects.
Our tone is our brand
I am entering this race with a passion to engage the community in the process of local government, let their voices be heard, reach consensus together and arrive at solutions that serve our city well.
Transparency, accountability, and a change in tone for City officials and our police and sheriff’s departments is needed yesterday. It costs nothing to be nice. There is an authoritative tone in city communications that goes beyond just being formal and sends a perceived message that the city doesn’t consider our residents as collaborative partners. When you pair this tone with an apparent lack of transparency or failure to respond to residents’ complaints or questions, the trust and respect of our people get damaged. I would work to create a communications strategy for officials and city employees to introduce a collaborative and positive tone in written and spoken communications. The people of Virginia Beach deserve this. They also deserve to see how all city business is done and to have access to the people or information they need to make sound decisions. Let's start with a true Citizen's Review Board with subpoena powers like promised last November! Let's remind them this November.
