Marlin Manley is a candidate for Hampton City Council. His name will appear on the ballot on Nov. 8, 2022.
10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.
See who is on your ballot by viewing the candidate lists on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Name: Marlin Manley
Race: Hampton City Council
Biography: Marlin Manley was born in Germany into a military family. He moved to Hampton at the age of five. His parents settled in the Tidemill Farms neighborhood, often referred to as “the Mill,” next door to Langley Air Force Base. Manley ultimately graduated from Bethel High School in 2001 and attended the University of Texas Pan-American on a Division 1 NCAA track and field scholarship. In 2008, he earned his master’s degree in mass communications from Howard University.
He is a loving husband and the father of three children. He was raised on three pillars of core values: Achievement, commitment, and family.
Manley’s tremendous drive has led him to become a results-oriented professional with over 10 years of logistic, program analyst, and project management experience. He currently works as a contractor for the U.S. Army with Systems Technologies Incorporated as a project manager/coordinator. He has been employed with this company since 2017.
Aside from working various projects around the world, including England, Japan, Kuwait, Korea, Germany, and Greenland, his current project is managing the successful transition of over $100 million in equipment from both stateside and abroad. His experience expands, but is not limited to, satellite communication, foreign military sales, physical security, asset management, records management, procurement, large event planning, and system administration.
His extensive experience with international and diplomatic relations, training, public relations, and simultaneously managing multiple complex projects has led him to rise to the top of his profession. Manley possess outstanding leadership and problem-solving skills with the ability to deliver high-level performance under stress.
Manley has previously worked in the following positions:
- Contractor with the Department of Navy, foreign military sales
- Pearl Harbor Shipyard, program analyst/logistics/special projects
- Department of State, International Police Peacekeeping Operations Support Program
- Department of Homeland Security, U.S. citizenship and immigration services security enterprise
Education:
- 2008: Master of arts, Howard University
- 2005: Bachelor of arts, University of Texas Pan-American
- 2001: Diploma, Bethel High School
Why should residents elect you to City Council?
I have the unique perspective of viewing my city not only as a visitor (via being an active-duty military spouse/dependent), but also as a local who grew up in Hampton. After living in numerous cities, both stateside and abroad, I understand the immediate and future impacts of decisions made by local leadership on current and future generations.
Decisions made in haste, or without the consideration of those directly affected, can often take years to recover; often resulting in wasted funds and long-standing resentment. Any decisions I make, or support, will be made from someone with the understanding, perspective, and foresight that our decisions will impact my family and the community that helped shape me. This is not a responsibility I take lightly.
What are the top three priorities you would tackle if elected?
- Communication, community involvement, trust
- Infrastructure
- Law enforcement and educator pay (If we want to expect more, we need to pay more! In this case, they deserve more!)
What is the most pressing economic issue facing your community, and how would you address it?
Lack of desired businesses (local and chain) in communities and utilization of existing footprints. The unfortunate side effect of downturn in business is a rise in city taxes to offset the loss of income. The revitalization of these areas will not only increase city revenue, but will improve our residents’ quality of life.
What are your community’s biggest infrastructure needs, and how do you plan to fulfill them?
- Repaving of roads: This is an absolute must as many of these roads look and feel as if they haven’t been repaved since the mid-late 90s, which is completely unacceptable. It doesn’t matter how nice an area may be if the road leading up to it doesn’t match.
- Making our city walkable (pedestrian friendly) and bikeable): This is yet another project that can be achieved in the short term. With the rising cost of transportation and renewed focus on health, it is our duty to provide our residents with a safe means of basic and alternative transportation
- Addressing flooding issues: First step is to stop clearing trees and reutilize existing buildings and footprints. We must replant vegetation in areas most affected by flooding and modernize the city drainage systems.
- Repairing and updating city-owned facilities and community centers (to include school outdoor tracks): Many city-owned facilities (pools, community centers, outdoor tracks, etc.) are either poorly maintained or well beyond the need of replacement. It’s time we reallocate city funds to address these issues.
How is gun violence impacting your community, and how do you plan to address gun violence?
Gun violence is often a symptom of a larger problem. The only way to properly address gun violence is to get to the “why.” Once we learn the reasons behind the “why” we can start to address and heal those wounds which, in turn, will directly impact gun violence.
Crime is typically the result of a “perceived” lack of opportunity, and the only way to address this is with sincere and purposeful communication with neighborhood and community leaders. Those in the community have best insight into ideas, solutions, and guidance to remedy this issue. We just need to provide the forum and listen.
