Name: C. Conrad Schesventer II

Biography: C. Conrad Schesventer II is a Virginia Beach native who graduated from Old Dominion University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in sports management. He does volunteer work with the athletics departments at ODU and Norfolk State University, and is a volunteer chess coach for local children.

1. Why should residents elect you to City Council?

City Council needs to turn over and be “redeveloped,” as some of the big monied interests might say. As council matured over the past few decades it distanced itself from the pulse of the community, thinking continued polishing of the Oceanfront and redirecting funds from needed infrastructure is something that is beneficial. Now it is time for young blood, fresh eyes that will guide the city on the right path in the decades to come.

2. What is the most pressing issue facing your community, and how will you address the issue

Flooding after hard rains is the most pressing due to a couple factors. A, it has happening more frequently/severely. B, city council has taxed citizens for years to fund storm water maintenance but diverted that to other projects. This creates crisis, it is a system threat. On council I’ll vote no on proposals that divert funds away from storm water, and on council I’ll rally a team of fellow council members, the mayor, local state representatives and federal representatives, to travel to Richmond and D.C. to secure much needed grants to help correct flooding problems sooner. Because city council was negligent in the past.

3. Where do you stand on raising taxes to balance your locality’s budget?

Ideology tells me to distrust taxes, they take money from me to be spent by a governing body. But spend they do, on schools, roads, etc. Part of the etc. is spending that is getting too flashy, like a sports center at the beach. Or the Cavalier project. That was greed, but not greed from the citizen wanting to keep tax money – it was greed from developers who want to use public money to enrich themselves, and it was greed from governing bodies that thought this taxed money “invested” in enterprise that will raise future tax money. If anyone should be greedy in the face of balanced budgets it should be private citizens who are greedy about keeping their money to balance their personal checkbooks.

4. What’s your plan to reduce crime?

Loosen up what the city considers criminal. Spend more time enforcing law that protects citizens from harming others. Like fraud, or assault. Pulling someone over for driving solo in an HOV lane minutes before it opens and charging them over a hundred dollars is, well, a crime that should be reduced by not enforcing it. Notice someone is doing hair without a license? Don’t fine them. Someone has a chicken in their backyard in the North End? Look the other way. If I could tell the nation to end the drug war, I would. In the meantime, Virginia Beach law enforcement could act more laissez faire about the recreational use of substances. But hey, that’s just the guy who doesn’t want to see VB government become oppressive.

5. What are your community’s biggest infrastructure needs, and how do you plan to fulfill them?

Biggest needs are overhaul of the storm water drainage system, and wider – smoother roadways. Follow that up with appealing to the state of Virginia for city wide Wi-Fi.

6. What businesses and industries would you try to attract to your community?

Businesses I want to attract are inside the minds of my VB citizens. Just this year a brilliant young woman opened a new coffee/tea restaurant in my district. It took bravery and risk, and the attraction of the business was not by the city but by her desire to lead herself to individual fulfillment. These stories happen all the time, but they are small businesses. Attracting industry requires a few simple things that my being on council would influence. First, is world class infrastructure. Second is a government that is easy on a regulatory and tax front. I have an appetite for that environment to foster, and I believe leading to that set up with bring in multiple industries like off shore wind, new tech startups, and many others.