Name: Eric Wray II
Biography: Eric Vaughn Wray II is a native Portsmouth, a resident of Virginia Beach, Virginia and is a Licensed Funeral Director & Embalmer; holding dual licenses in Virginia & North Carolina. He is the Founder/CEO of E. Vaughn Wray Funeral Establishment, Norfolk and was voted for Funeral Homes 2018 “Best of Norfolk”. Eric received his education from the Portsmouth Public School System, and holds an Associates in Applied Science Degree in Funeral Service from John Tyler Community College in Chester, VA. Eric has also matriculated at Norfolk State University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s historic Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership program.
Website: ericwray.com
1. Why should residents elect you to City Council?
I have the temperament and experience at all levels of government that makes me the ideal Councilman. I am not running to for the sake of being a councilman, I am running to do the work….to serve! In my professional life as a Funeral Director, I am conditioned to answer calls, answer emails, meet deadlines, visit areas, go to individuals’ residences, solve problems get things done. This is the type of very responsive Councilman that I will be. I am running to succeed former Councilman Dyer (who is now running for mayor) and to serve the Centerville District, just as effective as he did. Constituent Services should be at the pinnacle of anyone who seeks public office. My serving will be 100% community oriented and solutions based.
2. What is the most pressing issue facing your community, and how would you address that issue?
Infrastructure, Flooding, Sea Level Rise is the most pressing issue to Virginia Beach. Upon taking office in January, I will be committed to flooding as my first priority. We cannot wait 15 years, we need to fix flooding NOW. Sea-level rise, coupled with soil subsidence, compounded with changing weather patterns, makes flooding the existential threat to the Virginia Beach we all know and love.
We are just beginning to understand the financial and land use planning challenges will require of us to adapt to mitigate. We need to accelerate the elimination of the backlog in canal, ditch and retention pond maintenance. We need to fully fund routine maintenance to preserve the design capacity of existing drainage systems. The MAD (Moss Abbott, Dyer) alternative budget would have been a step in the right direction in fixing the problem.
We need additional funding, to increase the capability to discharge storm water and mitigate tidal flooding, as part of long-term plan with incremental annual investments with a mix of debt and cash. We need to update our building codes and new road construction standards to build in margin for the long-term impact of sea level rise and soil subsidence
3. Where do you stand on raising taxes to balance your locality’s budget?
No person running for any office, can ever guarantee that they will not ever vote to raise taxes. However, I will not arbitrarily vote to raise taxes on hardworking citizens for special projects for favored developers, a school budget of services being held hostage by the teacher union/schoolboard etc. The 3 core functions of local government are to always do the following: 1. Fully fund our schools, 2. Fully fund public safety & 3. Provide adequate infrastructure.
There are needs, wants & nice to haves……ONLY when its totally necessary, I will vote to increase taxes, based only on our needs and not every want or nice to have. Before the vote and Afterwards; I will always have conversations with my community and explain fully why I voted or will vote this way. My whole goal is to be a good steward of tax payer monies.
4. What’s your plan to reduce crime?
First, we are 80 police officers short in our city. Its been this way for over 10 years. I am blessed to have received the endorsement of the PBA (Police Benevolent Association). We first have to continue to fix police pay compression. The $3.6 Million dollars placed in the last budget, was a step in the right direction, but we have to do more. As the next councilman, I will fight to decrease pay compression for police. If we adequately fund our police, do more to increase police moral, make it easier for officers to remain in Virginia Beach after training; that will be a major step in the right direction to fight crime.
5. What are your community’s biggest infrastructure needs, and how do you plan to fulfill them?
We have discussed flooding in a previous question. That always is the major infrastructure issue. We need to look at spillways and grass that absorbs water. Also, we have to remove old pipes and clean out ditches and waterways. We have to also work with Chesapeake, to open up the inter-coastal waterway
Many have driven down our roads and noticed the increased pot holes and breaks on our city roads. We have to begin the process of repairing them. There is a current project on Indian River & Kempsville roads to repair that road. This is a step in the right direction but we have to do more.
6. What businesses and industries would you try to attract to your community?
First, we have to open up Virginia Beach for all businesses. I want to attract smaller and larger industries to our city, without raising taxes to do so. My plan is to level to playing field for all industries to base their companies and for contracts to be open for all qualified applicants.
I also, would like to be aggressive in utilizing our under-utilized Convention Center. I believe in attracting major conferences to our beautiful convention center, that will definitely diversify our local economy.
I would like to see our next Vice Mayor to serve as our Chief Business Creation Officer. I would like that person, be the face of attracting major fortune 500 companies to our city. We have to have major industries to continuously grow our area and our economy.
Lastly, after elected; I am going to champion for free parking at the oceanfront for beach residents only. Many citizens don’t frequent the oceanfront because of parking. This will be good for our residents and area businesses as locals will utilize one of our most precious resources year round.