Petersburg's Ward 5: Three candidates for the council seat; two are making the most noise
PETERSBURG — The city's only three-way City Council race is in Ward 5, but one of the candidates is running so quietly, you may not know she was even running at all.
Incumbent Howard Myers, a former mayor, is seeking his fourth term on council. He is being challenged by Michelle Murrills, who moved to the city from Alaska four years ago, and Lois Long, who represents Ward 5 on the School Board. Long's presence in the race has been very low-key so far — she has not taken part in any candidate forums thus far and it is very rare to find any mention of her candidacy now anywhere in Ward 5 or on social media.
Numerous messages left with her by The Progress-Index seeking comments about her campaign for this preview article have not been answered.
But while Long is quiet, the others in the race are not. Both have been actively campaigning for the seat that represents north-central Petersburg, with its combination of small businesses and residences.
Myers, a property manager in the city, has been on council since 2010. His critics say he has become too entrenched in the seat and is part of an "establishment" on council that has been driving personal agendas over citizens' needs.
After so many years on council, one might think that Myers might want to think about expanding his horizons. He admitted thinking that it was time to step aside, but he opted to run again because he felt there still was some unfinished business he wanted to see through before calling it a career. Part of that is ensuring that Ward 5 residents have all the resources at their disposal to buy their first home, build their incomes and get better paying jobs.
"I think that across town and all around the entire city of Petersburg was affected by a lot of blight, low or no jobs, and no real workforce opportunities," Myers said. "And I thik that in terms of since we've been there that those things have increased provided resources for those things to come."
Murrills, on the other hand, does not see it quite that way. She said that there still are major areas of blight around Ward 5, particularly in the area of Harding Street, where long-vacant houses are deteriorating to the point where they have become neighborhood nuisances. She said she also sees residents who feel like they have been neglected by their current representation.
"Those houses are really bad," Murrills, a tour guide with The Petersburg Company, said. "People see this and they see nobody cares about their ward, but I do. I walk around the ward both day and night, and I talk to people."
Murrills moved to Petersburg four years ago from Anchorage, Alaska. While some might wonder why a transplant from the "Last Frontier" would want to run a campaign in a smaller Virginia city, she claimed that, despite the obvious difference in weather climate, she saw similar problems addressed in Anchorage that she thinks Petersburg is facing today — economic hardship, blight, school issues, etc.
"We don't have just a Black and white [diversity] there," Murrills said. "We have over 200 different nationalities in Anchorage and Alaska."
How to spend Petersburg's money
Petersburg has benefitted recently from an influx of federal and state funding to help boost overdue projects, such as the $29 million in state dollars to upgrade the Poor Creek water station and improve water and wastewater service in southern Petersburg. The city also secured $2.9 million to take over and tear down the old Ramada Inn at Interstate 95, and earlier this month, the growing pharmaceutical industry here was part of a $52.9 million federal initiative for developing drug research in Richmond and drug manufacturing in Petersburg.
Myers called that cash infusion "a weight well-lifted" off the shoulders of Petersburg not having to dip into its own municipal pocketbook to cover them.
"That way, we can focus on the real service to the citizens of Petersburg rather than making a decision whether this is the future of Petersburg versus the everyday life of the citizens," he said. That includes needed repair to the city's water and sewer infrastructure, streets and sidewalks, and the removal of overgrown vegetation and blighted properties.
Murrills, who labels herself an independent politically but "fairly fiscally conservative" when it comes to spending, said any money the city generates needs to fund actual needs rather than any councilor's pet projects.
"There are so many better things to spend money on rather than feeding City Council," she said. "Homeless people are big here in Petersburg, we have blighted homes. There is a lot we can do."
More:Ward boundaries have shifted with the new map. Do you know which one you live in?
Issues specifically for Ward 5?
With its mix of residences and businesses, particularly along the Halifax Street corridor, Ward 5's issues reflect the overall ones in Petersburg — blight, crime, economic instability and homeless, to name a few. Both Myers and Murrills were asked what they thought were the issues that were almost tailor-made for Ward 5.
Yes, Murrills said ... an overall feeling that people are being ignored by their elected representatives.
"I walk around the district day and night, and I'll just sit down and start talking with people," she said. "I ask them what they would like to have, and they tell me that no one has ever come around and asked them what they would like to see happen in Petersburg. I don't have a lot of money, but I have a whole lot of time, and I love to talk to people."
Murrills also said many people she has encountered in her daily and nightly walks do not know they live in the fifth ward, something she attributes to Ward 5 being "forgotten" by the Petersburg powers-that-be.
Myers said Ward 5 "has grown tremendously" over the past 12 years he has been in office, and the issues it faces are germane to what the rest of the city is facing.
"I think that across town and all around, the entire city of Petersburg is affected by a lot of what was blight at the time," he said. "Low or no jobs, no real workforce opportunities. And I think in terms of since we 've been there that those things have increasingly provided resources for those to come."
The murder rate
Petersburg has recorded 15 homicides thus far in 2022, three less than in all of last year. Ward 5 has seen its share of them, including a high-profile one July 2 when a young lady was shot to death after she got caught in crossfire among several people at the ArtistSpace Lofts apartment complex. That homicide remains ingrained in Myers' mind as he was one of several people who tended to the victim just as she died.
Petersburg is less than 10 years removed from almost bankruptcy, and during those hard times, crime increased. The city is doing better financially now, yet the violent crimes, particularly homicides, continued and even went higher. While all that is happening, Petersburg's police department is severely understaffed.
Recently, the Virginia State Police has been assisting Petersburg with patrols — mainly along the city's major traffic corridors while city police concentrate on neighborhood streets. The recent "Partnership for Petersburg" between the city and the state outlined several initiatives for fighting crime, and both Myers and Murrills applauded that launch as a good first step.
"I think a lot of folks are really tired of kids killing kids," Myers said. "And I think the parents are starting to identify those issues with their children. There's the curfew which we've instituted again, with which I wish we could have gone a little further."
Murrills, who supports increasing partnerships and good will between Petersburg law enforcement and the citizens it protects said what she is seeing in Petersburg crime-wise is very similar to what she saw in Anchorage years ago. In her opinion, there was an economic tie to it. When that state's oil-rich industry did well, violence was lower. As the per-barrel price dropped from more than $100 to around $12 in 1992, violence went up.
"There was a lot of trying to figure out how to make no money work," she said.
Remember this:
Election Day is Nov. 8, 2022.
In-person early voting for the election begins Sept. 23 and continues until Nov. 5, three days before the election.
The deadline to register to vote or to update an existing registration is Oct. 17. Anyone who registers after that date will be able to vote using a provisional ballot.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 28.
You can register to vote or apply for an absentee ballot online through the Virginia Department of Elections' citizen portal.
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Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Former Petersburg mayor challeneged by two opponents in Ward 5
