Can Hamilton Win? With Multiple Scandals and a Wired City Council Member, the Pressure Is on Jones

Looking Back at 2022: A Plurality, Not a Mandate

The 2022 mayor’s race was a four-way contest after longtime Mayor McKinley Price stepped aside. Phillip D. Jones took 19,441 votes—40.29%. David H. “Dave” Jenkins finished second with 11,637 (24.12%), Tina L. Vick had 9,055 (18.77%), and Saundra N. Cherry received 7,868 (16.31%). Write-ins accounted for a few hundred more. Total votes cast hovered around 48,200.

Jones won, but he did so with a clear plurality rather than a majority. Nearly 60% of those who voted preferred someone else. In a multi-candidate field, that is enough to take office; it is not an overwhelming endorsement of any single vision. The field was crowded with sitting or recent city council members, fragmenting the anti-status-quo vote. That fragmentation is exactly what a focused challenger can exploit.

Population, Registration, and Turnout Reality

Newport News has roughly 183,000 residents. In 2022, total registered voters were about 125,000 (active plus inactive). Turnout in the mayoral race translated to roughly 38–40% of registered voters—respectable for a local contest but far from saturated.

That leaves substantial room. If Hamilton and his supporters can raise turnout even modestly among voters dissatisfied with the current direction—whether over taxes, infrastructure priorities, neighborhood equity, or trust in City Hall—the math shifts quickly. A candidate who consolidates the non-Jones share of the 2022 vote and adds new or previously low-propensity voters does not need a landslide. In a three-way race (Jones, Hamilton, and former Council Member Sharon Scott), simply becoming the clear alternative to the incumbent is powerful.

Hamilton has already signaled the themes that resonate: schools, public safety, fiscal discipline, economic development that benefits residents rather than flashy projects, and transparency. He has been candid about his past federal conviction and time served, asking voters to judge the full record of decades in the House of Delegates alongside the later chapter. That honesty, paired with lived experience in state-level legislating, contrasts with the younger incumbent’s relatively short time in the mayor’s chair.

Scandals, Credit-Card Issues, and “Wired” Dynamics on Council

City government under the current administration has not been free of friction. Multiple City Council members were required to reimburse the city after an internal review found improper use of city-issued credit cards—meals exceeding policy limits, travel (including a flight and upgrade to an NCAA basketball tournament), a personal LinkedIn subscription, Cash App transactions, and other non-city-business charges. Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany repaid more than $2,700; other members repaid smaller amounts. Mayor Jones himself did not face reimbursement demands and later pushed for clearer rules and a handbook on council conduct.

These episodes—combined with ongoing debates over budget priorities, capital projects, and how city resources are allocated—feed a broader perception that accountability still needs strengthening. Whether or not every controversy reaches the level of formal scandal, the cumulative effect puts pressure on the incumbent. When residents already feel “forgotten,” as Hamilton has put it, even smaller governance lapses reinforce the case for change.

Why Hamilton Can Win

Jones enters with a large fundraising advantage and the benefits of incumbency. That is real. But local elections in Newport News are still decided by who turns out and who unifies the opposition. The 2022 results prove a candidate can take City Hall without a majority. Hamilton’s long legislative résumé, willingness to talk about hard issues (taxes, long-term infrastructure costs, neighborhood equity), and grassroots approach give him tools that pure money cannot fully neutralize.

The path is straightforward: identify the voters who sat out 2022 or split their support among three other candidates, speak directly to their concerns about schools, safety, and responsible spending, and get them to the polls—early voting starts mid-September, Election Day is November 3. With a city of this size and a registered base that has never been fully activated in recent mayoral contests, higher participation is not a fantasy. It is the difference between another plurality win for the incumbent and a genuine change in direction.

Hamilton does not need perfection. He needs organization, clear messaging, and voters who decide that “good enough” is no longer good enough. The pressure is on Jones to defend a record that, for many residents, has left too much unfinished business. Newport News has the numbers. The question is whether enough people will use them.

Sharon Scott’s Role in the Race

Former City Council Member Sharon P. Scott, who served more than two decades representing the North District before stepping away in 2022, has also entered the race and has appeared in recent local polling. Scott is campaigning on transparency, open government, housing affordability, public safety, and making sure no part of the city is left behind. Her long record and name recognition give her a base, particularly among voters who remember her years of constituent work and town-hall style engagement. At the same time, her presence creates a three-way dynamic that could again split the anti-incumbent vote the way the 2022 field did. For Hamilton, that makes the need to consolidate dissatisfied voters even clearer: the more the opposition remains divided, the easier it is for Jones to win another plurality.