Portsmouth’s Bill Moody reverses course and will seek a 7th term on City Council, citing ‘embarrassment’ of recent events
The City Council’s longest-serving member reversed an earlier decision and will seek reelection, citing recent events that he says depict the city in a negative light.
“My concerns are the way the city is being managed by city council,” said Bill Moody, 72, first elected in 1998. “I think there’s really a lot of embarrassment painting the city as dysfunctional.”
The embarrassment factoring into his decision, he says, is last week’s abrupt and divided vote that terminated Angel Jones as city manager. Moody voted against the motion and praised Jones for her competence and work to better the city.
In 2018, Moody won his sixth term, with Mayor Shannon Glover and council member Paul Battle filling the other two vacant seats. Moody is a sales representative with WB Waste Solutions in Chesapeake.
Moody posted in January to his social media accounts that he would not be seeking reelection. He told The Virginian-Pilot on Wednesday that decision was based on a sense of stability on the council after the hiring of Jones.
But Moody said the current council has upended that stability. His dissatisfaction is particularly directed at the four who voted to oust Jones — Battle, Vice Mayor De’Andre Barnes and council members Chris Woodard and Mark Whitaker.
Moody said he brings to the position institutional knowledge and “a lot of common sense.”
“I think some common sense is what’s missing right now,” he said.
Moody may be running alongside a familiar face — former council member Nathan Clark, who unsuccessfully sought a second term for council in 2020.
Clark, a retired law enforcement officer and firefighter, said he’s received numerous calls from residents asking him to make a run because they’re familiar with his background and want change on the council.
“At this time I am collecting signatures to have my name placed on the ballot,” Clark said.
Clark was among those who attended Tuesday night’s special meeting in Portsmouth; it was the first public setting where he sought the 125 signatures needed to be placed on the ballot for November.
“If not me, then who” is the mantra guiding Clark’s campaign, he said, adding that encouragement he’s received prompted him to run, but last week’s controversial vote confirmed that decision.
Given the last two weeks of council action, Clark believes the race will be crowded, but he’s motivated to help the city move forward and that previously serving will give him a leg up.
Clark also said he intends to support Moody as he has in past elections.
Moody and Battle hold two of the three seats that will be up for grabs in November. Woodard was appointed in early 2021 to fill Glover’s seat when he was elected mayor.
Natalie Anderson, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com, 757-732-1133.
