PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — If Hampton had a Page Six-style tabloid, councilman Chris Bowman could end up on the cover.
Randy Bowman — no relation — who twice unsuccessfully ran for City Council, has some commentary to offer.
“I find it very disturbing that a council member can break the law and only apologize and get away with what he did,” Randy Bowman said. “He took self-gratification over the moral and the correct thing to do.
What Chris Bowman did — by his own admission — took place with a prostitute in a Newport News motel in January 2022. After the encounter, Bowman discovered his cell phone was missing. Months later Bowman met with a man in Hampton who promised the return of Bowman’s phone if Bowman turned over $5,000.
The phone never materialized and a suspect, identified as Michael E. Brown, was arrested in June on a charge of extortion. To avoid any potential conflict of interest, the Hampton extortion case is being prosecuted by the Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney.
The other Bowman, who operates a restaurant, served up another observation.
“My question is — and the citizens want to know — what is in your phone that is worth $5,000? You can get all the information out of iCloud to replace the information on the phone,” said Randy Bowman, who added that phones that are insured are easy to replace.
Wednesday night, businessman Randy Bowman announced a petition drive that could force a recall election. Read the petition here:
“We have a petition, which is here, and we are gonna start the petition today ( Thursday) with the signatures we need [ an that is] ten percent of the people that elected Chris Bowman. That means we need 1608 signatures. However, I want 2- thousand signatures in case some of those names are purged out,” said Bowman.
Two weeks ago Chris Bowman issued an apology after other women accused him of displaying inappropriate behavior. Previously, the Hampton Branch of the NAACP called for Bowman’s resignation but he refused to step down.
Randy Bowman said voters will now have the final say on Chris Bowman’s political fate.
“We would like to get these signatures in the next 30 days so that we can move forward with the process of getting the citizens that have to go into the electoral office and actually vote,” said Randy Bowman, who added a recall election would produce a large turnout if it coincides with the November elections.
10 On Your Side reached out to Councilman Chris Bowman and his Hampton-based attorney. As of this writing, they have not responded to requests for comment.