Working together for Hampton

By Molly Ward

Like many citizens of Hampton, I was raised to believe that service to the community is both a duty and a privilege. I love our city of Hampton, so I am honored to have the opportunity to perform that service as your mayor.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. might have best expressed the rewards of community service when he said: “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” I agree. Community service comes in many forms, and I’ve always believed that everyone can find a way to serve that satisfies their interests, aptitudes and desire to contribute.

Hampton has many strengths, and citizens who volunteer are among these pillars. At any given time, there are 1,265 residents doing some type of volunteer work for the City of Hampton and countless others in similar service with Hampton charities, nonprofits, religious organizations, community athletic leagues, youth organizations and arts groups. I love talking about such contributions and you’ll be seeing me do this through my weekly blog and in other venues in coming weeks and months.

Community service also can be a fun way of pulling families together. My family is very supportive of my interest in serving and we always have fun talking about the community and politics. We go as far as to make friendly wagers on every election — and not just on who is going to win or lose. We design elaborate charts with point spreads and percentages. Our bets from the November 2008 election season were not resolved until Al Franken was sworn in as a senator from Minnesota on July 7 of this year. Other families watch football and baseball together. My children can’t tell you who won the Super Bowl last year or who Virginia Tech is playing this weekend, but they can name all of their elected representatives and they have opinions on health care reform, Nancy Pelosi and offshore drilling.

Politics has been part of our family traditions for generations. My grandfather, George Bentley, served as mayor, as did my great, great uncle James Barron Hope. But none of that could have prepared me for the excitement — and sometimes the strangeness — of this first year and a half. I have attended countless ribbon cuttings, and each one is different. I have used fake scissors, real scissors and giant scissors and have worked with people who wanted me to actually cut the ceremonial ribbon and other people who wanted me to pretend to cut the ribbon.

I also have welcomed literally thousands of people to Hampton at every possible venue for every possible reason. I have met Barack Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Madeline Albright, four-star generals, four-star admirals, taken the first bite of a sandwich at Chic-fil-A with a giant cow, attended boot camp and have read to 55 classrooms of 4-year-olds for the Mayor’s Book Club. At one such recent book club session, we presented a giant key to the city — created by the students — to Mark Malkoff, a nationally known comedian and filmmaker who was working on a video project called “Keys to the City” with mayors all across the country.

So being mayor makes for an odd mix of having enormous responsibility — but very little authority — in shaping budgets and policies and laws and public safety and economic development, but also for being the city’s official greeter and number one booster. And I love it.

I am very excited about the opportunities ahead of us. We are an amazing, beautiful waterfront town with a wealth of history that we will be celebrating in even bigger ways in 2010, the 400th anniversary year of Hampton’s founding.

And thanks to that history, and to our diversity and geographical location, as well as to our fabulous citizens, Hampton is a unique, wonderful place with amazing potential. And yet, we are also our own worst critics. Perhaps that, too, comes from our history. A friend told me our psychology is partly the result of our fires. We were burned to the ground twice — during the War of 1812 by British invaders and then by our own citizens in 1861.

At the City Council level, we wonder whether we are doing enough to get word out about all the good in our city. My blog is part of the attempt to help with that, but I’m also not going to shy from describing some of the challenges we face.

Each member loves this city and is dedicated to doing the right things for the right reasons. There have been some rough spots, but we have taken some important steps in becoming a team. It was significant that we passed our budget by a 7-0 vote and that we weathered the dynamics of the Buckroe controversy as a team. Some votes have been 5-2 and some 6-1, but that’s not bad math for a diverse group.

We have a city government full of bright, dedicated people. One of the primary reasons I was willing to run was that I knew that the city was full of hope and promise. The council has continued to pursue an evermore positive relationship with staff and the council has worked hard to stay focused.

We are also committed to improve our city’s voice and participation in regional activities. Hampton has been selected for leadership positions within the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance (HRMFFA) and the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), which is important when it comes to decisions that affect our city and the region.

There’s much to do — and much to celebrate. I need your help in doing both, in helping the city grow and in sharing in the fun. I need you to join the cheerleading squad with me. We all need to share in good advice, insight and time devoted to helping Hampton reach it’s goal of being “the most livable city in Virginia.”