Chesapeake can be safe, affordable, and fair without making city government more confusing. The plan is simple: lower costs for homeowners, give families more energy choice, fully staff police and schools, and fix the neighborhoods that have waited the longest.
Dominion should not be the only real choice for every family. If a home can safely make and store its own power, the city should not force that home to stay tied to one company just to be called livable. Chesapeake should protect safety, but it should also protect choice.
Home and car values have gone up, and people were left to struggle with the bill. Tax relief should not be means tested. If you live in your home, you should get relief because the city should not use rising assessments as a back-door tax increase.
Chesapeake is short 41 police positions while police work rose about 10% in one year. That puts officers at risk because they are overworked and underpaid. Norfolk starts officers $2,200 higher after academy, and Virginia Beach starts them $2,734 higher.
City projects should be ranked by need, not noise or politics. If a neighborhood has had flooding, bad roads, unsafe crossings, or broken public buildings for 20 years, that should count. The worst problems should move to the front of the line.