Dear Editor:
As a concerned taxpayer, I want to see John Coker elected to City Council. Our city government spends a great deal more money now than it did even 20 years ago. It has little to do with population growth.
It seems there is a disconnect between our leadership and the needs of the average resident. When times are tough, normal people curtail their spending. Council, on the other hand, has been lavishing tax dollars on nearly every pet project that commercial real estate developers propose, regardless of actual need and regardless of economic downturns.
Most of the current members just don’t get it. John Coker does, though, and that’s why I support him over any of the other contenders for the Beach District seat.
He understands the importance of prioritizing city spending, and takes a common-sense, non-partisan approach to local government. There are a number of reasons to vote for Mr. Coker this November, but for me, it’s his views on public debt. If the city of Virginia Beach can manage some semblance of fiscal responsibility for the next 10 years or so, and avoid borrowing more money, we can significantly pay down the existing debts.
Do this, and when a large project that the citizens need and want comes up, and it can’t be paid for in a single budget year, the council can afford to borrow the money and make it happen.
— Caleb Dobbs, Corporate Landing
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