Steve Heretick is a candidate for Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney and is running as an Independent. His name will appear on the November 4, 2025 General Election ballot. Heretick is running against Nathan A. Chapman, also an Independent candidate, and Stephanie N. Morales, the Democratic incumbent.
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10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. The bio is unedited; this is what the candidate submitted. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.
Name: Steve Heretick
Age: 65
Website: https://www.heretickforportsmouth.com/
Party: Independent
Biography
Stephen E. (“Steve”) Heretick is a native of Hopewell, Virginia. He attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in 1982, and the Villanova University Law School receiving his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1988. Following a federal judicial clerkship, Steve joined Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, serving in Washington, Philadelphia, and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He received the Justice Department Award for Public Service in 1992. He served as a principal litigator in two Hampton Roads law firms before forming his present practice in Portsmouth in 2000, concentrating in commercial and criminal litigation. Throughout his 35+ year career as a litigation attorney, Steve served as lead trial counsel in federal and state cases at the trial and appellate levels. Steve holds the Martindale-Hubbell rating of “AV-Preeminent,” the highest peer-reviewed rating possible for demonstrated legal ability and ethics.
Steve has extensive history of public service. He was appointed to and chaired the Portsmouth Community Criminal Justice Board before being elected to the Portsmouth City Council in 2004, where he served through 2012. During that time he served as the city’s liaison to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the Portsmouth Economic Development Authority, the Hampton Roads Sports Authority, among others.
Steve was elected to the Virginia General Assembly from 2015-2021 representing the 79th House District of Virginia, which included portions of Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. Steve was appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve on the Committees on Finance, Labor and Commerce, Cities, Counties and Towns (Vice Chair), and Courts of Justice. Steve chaired the House Subcommittees on State Taxation, Insurance, and Land Use. Steve’s principal legislation included wireless communication and solar energy infrastructure development, health care reform, criminal justice reform, and the legalization of cannabis. Steve also served as Vice Chair of the Health Insurance Reform Commission (HIRC), the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), and the House Select Committee For The Study of School Safety, among multiple other legislative assignments.
Steve was also appointed to the Virginia Board of Medicine by then-Governor Mark Warner in July 2003, where he continued to serve under Governors Kaine and McDonald until January 2014. Steve has the distinction of serving two terms as President of the Virginia Board of Medicine, the first non-physician in Virginia history to serve as its President. Steve subsequently served as a Director of the Federation of State Medical Boards, as President of its Foundation, and chaired a committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners
Steve is married to Stephanie von Schaaf of Walton, New York, and they have one son, Stephenson, who proudly serves as a Firefighter/Paramedic in Suffolk. In rare time off, Steve enjoys fishing with his son and traveling.
If you are elected, what will be your top priority in office?
Rebuilding public trust in the integrity and competence of the Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney, and to reestablish a full working partnership with the community for effective and fair administration of justice.
Are you concerned with the amount of murder cases that have ended in acquittal over the last four years in Portsmouth?
Portsmouth is rated as one of the most dangerous cities in Virginia. Violent crime occurs here on a daily basis, and despite the sustained efforts of the Portsmouth Police Department, many of those charged with violent crimes are never held accountable for their actions. Many of the multiple acquittals of murder and major felony cases during the past four years have occurred by chronic failures of the Commonwealth’s Attorney to comply with basic requirements of constitutional law. No other Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office in the state has this problem. One such failure is inexcusable; repeated such failures are inexplicable. While the Commonwealth’s Attorney frequently blames the Court for such dismissals, the Court’s discretion is bound by these failures, which fall squarely on the Commonwealth’s Attorney and her failure to provide even basic leadership for her office.
With the crime rate in Portsmouth, how do you prioritize the cases you will choose to prosecute
As Commonwealth’s Attorney, I will prioritize the prosecution of all violent and gun-related crimes. These cases will be assigned to senior, experienced prosecutors, and my office will seek all available resources to support the timely and successful prosecution of these cases. In addition, my office will provide additional focus on property crimes, and will take the lead in the prosecution of those cases to protect Portsmouth families and businesses from the continuing blight associated with theft, fraud, and elder abuse that often goes unaddressed by our current Commonwealth’s Attorney.
What is your philosophy on plea agreements? Are there cases when you think they are not appropriate?
Plea negotiations are an essential aspect of our criminal justice system, but plea agreements are often used to shortcut or circumvent the full and fair prosecution of violent crimes. In many cases, the victims of these crimes are not consulted and have no real voice in that process. As Commonwealth’s Attorney, my office will not agree to reduce gun-related offenses and other violent crimes, particularly homicide cases, and will agree to plea bargains in such cases only where the accused is held fully responsible and the community is protected.
