Norfolk leaders say voters sent Winn a message
NORFOLK
When City Councilman Barclay C. Winn was re-elected Tuesday in Superward 6 by a 21-point margin, Mayor Paul Fraim called the result a "confirmation of all we have done."
Winn called it "a clear mandate" for the city's political leadership.
But there was a sobering message that Winn and other political leaders should heed, say civic leaders from the largely blue-collar northern half of the city.
They say the election revealed voter discontent with City Hall, especially with the council's failure to do anything when the Internal Revenue Service claimed one of its members, Paul R. Riddick, owes a quarter of a million dollars in taxes and penalties.
Winn, 64, won 48.8 percent of the vote in Superward 6, which encompasses half of the city. A 12-year incumbent, he enjoyed endorsements from most of the political establishment and the financial backing of much of the city's business elite.
Yet his three opponents - John Amiral, Jesse Scaccia and Marcus Calabrese - did surprisingly well in Ward 5, a portion of the superward that includes Ocean View, Bayview and neighborhoods off East Little Creek Road. There, Winn's opponents claimed 59 percent of the vote, and Amiral defeated Winn by 65 votes.
The boat was able to get back to the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club, in Lowestoft and Mr Morgan added: “The sea off Lowestoft is like the M25 – there is