About Debbie
A record of real achievement for Chesapeake
Making government work for you
Debbie’s successful initiatives for the 382-CITY call center, online requests for services and the emergency medical dispatch system all helped to improve the City’s efficiency and customer service. Improved technology has provided more accessibility and cut red tape. It should always be the goal of your government to treat every citizen as a valued customer, not as an afterthought of bureaucracy.
Improving the environment
Chesapeake’s Open Space and Agricultural Protection Program, the conservation of almost 4,000 acres in Southern Chesapeake, the Dismal Swamp Trail, stopping the importation of out of state trash and a mega landfill just across the NC state line, the Money Point cleanup plans and the requirement for environmental testing on soon to be developed property were all successful because of Debbie’s work and determination. She has experience working with respected public private partnerships such as the Elizabeth River Project, The Nature Conservancy and the Chesapeake Arboretum.
Strengthening neighborhoods
When a shooting incident took place in South Norfolk, Debbie responded to an alarmed phone call from a resident that had suffered a gunshot through her living room window. That call led to the closing of a dilapidated, crime infested apartment complex and the creation of an affordable, safe housing complex.
The very beginnings of revitalization in South Norfolk came when Debbie worked with the Commonwealth Transportation Board to win grants to remake the Poindexter Street Corridor.
Debbie visited hundreds of Chesapeake neighborhoods trying to find affordable solutions long-standing problems.
Innovative ideas can save money
Do you remember the long lines of traffic to exit the bypass at Mount Pleasant Road? Every afternoon, traffic backed up as you sat and waited for a break in cars to allow you to make that turn. Debbie brought forward the simple, affordable solution of a few traffic-directing poles that effectively ended that daily annoyance.
Did you ever wonder why more city services weren’t combined in one building? Debbie’s idea to include a library in the proposed Campostella Square recreation center has saved money and improved services to thousands of Chesapeake residents.
Debbie worked to restart the program of utilizing non-violent jail inmates to help our city forces complete tasks such as ditch cleaning and litter removal. That partnership with the Sheriff’s office has grown from two crews to seven crews and has saved the City hundreds of thousands of dollars.