Norfolk’s mayor says he will hold off fundraising for now by HARRY MINIUM, The Virginian-Pilot © November 18, 2009

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NORFOLK

Cheered on by a racially diverse, sign-waving crowd of more than 500 people, Mayor Paul Fraim announced Tuesday that he will seek re-election in May.

Fraim was flanked on the podium at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott by most of the city’s elected officials and Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms. During his speech, he listed the city’s progress in redeveloping downtown and some of Norfolk’s poorest neighborhoods and reducing the real estate tax rate to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value from $1.35 as examples of accomplishments during his tenure as mayor.

“I believe I have earned the right to ask for your vote again,” he said.

Fraim has served on the City Council for nearly 24 years and has been mayor for nearly 16 years. So far, he has only one announced opponent – Dan Montague, a retired shipyard worker and frequent council critic whom Fraim easily defeated in 2006.

 “I don’t know if anyone else is running,” Fraim said, adding that he will wait to do any fundraising until he knows for sure. Four years ago, he raised $200,000 from one fundraising dinner.

Most of Norfolk’s businesses elite, constitutional officers, council members and the city’s General Assembly delegation attended the event, as did Old Dominion University President John Broderick and Harry Lester, president of Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Fraim, an attorney, is essentially a full-time mayor, representing Norfolk on many regional agencies as well as overseeing downtown development. He said he has not grown tired of the job, which pays $27,000 a year.

“It is what I do every day,” he said. “It is my passion.”

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com