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Published on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com)
Vote Underwood for Norfolk prosecutor
Norfolk will hold an election next week to pick a commonwealth's attorney. The city will then go through the exercise again
in November to pick a full-term replacement for Jack Doyle, who now has a seat on the Circuit Court bench.
The race - which has been waged in civic leagues across the city but remains otherwise out of sight - pits Democrat Greg
Underwood, a senior deputy in the office, against Republican John Coggeshall, a Norfolk attorney.
Underwood can be described as the candidate of the status quo, intent on continuing Doyle's able management of the
office, with tweaks aimed at reaching into troubled communities and at coordinating more fully with other departments.
Coggeshall is running as the insurgent who says he'll focus intently on combating youth crime. He's an outsider who knows
how to do more with less money, he says, and intends to do so.
Commonwealth's attorneys generally prosecute only the highest-profile cases; most of the time, they are administrators of
a big public law firm, one of the most important in a locality. Norfolk, which has one of the state's biggest offices, employs
more than three dozen lawyers.
Underwood, who was a prosecutor in Virginia Beach, has the experience both to try cases - he has two dozen murder
cases under his belt - and to continue the able management of Doyle, his mentor. Coggeshall has significant charisma but
lacks the experience necessary for this position.
"Look at my record and look at his record," Underwood said. "Look at the years I've been prosecuting cases and look at
the years he hasn't been."
In his interview with The Pilot's editorial board, Underwood's planned initiatives were a collection of cautious expansions of
Doyle's policies, expressed with reserve. He wants a prosecutor working with police officers in the gang unit and in the
schools, and he plans to prosecute misdemeanor concealed firearms cases.
Coggeshall's agenda is more robust and more robustly expressed. But an effective commonwealth's attorney needs more
than passion and a robust agenda.
Vote Underwood for Norfolk prosecutor
Norfolk will hold an election next week to pick a commonwealth's attorney. The city will then go through the exercise again
in November to pick a full-term replacement for Jack Doyle, who now has a seat on the Circuit Court bench.
The race - which has been waged in civic leagues across the city but remains otherwise out of sight - pits Democrat Greg
Underwood, a senior deputy in the office, against Republican John Coggeshall, a Norfolk attorney.
Underwood can be described as the candidate of the status quo, intent on continuing Doyle's able management of the
office, with tweaks aimed at reaching into troubled communities and at coordinating more fully with other departments.
Coggeshall is running as the insurgent who says he'll focus intently on combating youth crime. He's an outsider who knows
how to do more with less money, he says, and intends to do so.
Commonwealth's attorneys generally prosecute only the highest-profile cases; most of the time, they are administrators of
a big public law firm, one of the most important in a locality. Norfolk, which has one of the state's biggest offices, employs
more than three dozen lawyers.
Underwood, who was a prosecutor in Virginia Beach, has the experience both to try cases - he has two dozen murder
cases under his belt - and to continue the able management of Doyle, his mentor. Coggeshall has significant charisma but
lacks the experience necessary for this position.
"Look at my record and look at his record," Underwood said. "Look at the years I've been prosecuting cases and look at
the years he hasn't been."
In his interview with The Pilot's editorial board, Underwood's planned initiatives were a collection of cautious expansions of
Doyle's policies, expressed with reserve. He wants a prosecutor working with police officers in the gang unit and in the
schools, and he plans to prosecute misdemeanor concealed firearms cases.
Coggeshall's agenda is more robust and more robustly expressed. But an effective commonwealth's attorney needs more
than passion and a robust agenda.