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City of Norfolk
John E. Paige
City Council - Ward 4
Independent
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
0
/ 100
F
Raw: 0 of 2 dynamic max
· 1 of 30 answered
Local tier30 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · scorecard-level timestamp
✝ God First
0/ 70
🏛️ Local First
0/ 30
National Rank
#5,019 of 8,776 · bottom 42.8% among candidates with at least one scored answer
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Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.
Official Profile
Religion: Catholic (member with wife Djuna of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Norfolk parish of the Diocese of Richmond, per official city bio)
Education: Norfolk State University alumnus; M.S. Management, Troy University (1998)
Background: Norfolk native (grew up in Huntersville/Norview/Ballantine neighborhoods). U.S. Air Force veteran (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm). Bail bondsman (small-business owner, 20+ years). Former adjunct professor at Norfolk State University (School of Business; School of Hospitality & Tourism Management). Personal story: dropped out after 10th grade, arrested at 17 and spent time in juvenile detention, earned GED, joined Air Force Reserve, went back to college. Great-great grandson of Rev. Richard G.L. Paige (early Black member of the Virginia General Assembly, 1871). Married 25+ years to Djuna; Kappa Alpha Psi (1992); board member Eggleston Services and Revive Community of Virginia; living organ donor. Norfolk City Council Ward 4 (officially nonpartisan; ran and serves as Independent), first elected 11/8/2022 with ~54% over Phillip Hawkins Jr (I) and Erik Barrett (D, 7.4%) — succeeded 30-year incumbent Paul Riddick. Term 1/1/2023-12/31/2026 (ON Nov 2026 ballot). Qualified for re-election 3/10/2026; per the Norfolk Office of Elections 'List of Qualified Local Candidates' (5/20/2026), no challenger has yet qualified for Ward 4 (filing deadline 6/16/2026).
[2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement] Roster verified: Norfolk City Council Ward 4 (officially nonpartisan; ran as Independent per VPAP). Term 1/1/2023-12/31/2026 (ON Nov 2026 ballot); qualified for re-election 3/10/2026 and currently unopposed as of 5/20/2026 — set candidacy_status to general_candidate. Party Unknown→I. HARD adverse public_justice q3 evidence: in WAVY candidate profile and WTKR rally coverage, Paige explicitly stated 'Gun violence is a public safety concern as well as a public health concern,' calling for 'real and inclusive dialogue with the community' including 'those who have experienced violence, those who have practiced violence, and those who have not' and 'taking those that were once violent and indoctrinating them into being community leaders and community partners.' Literal embrace of the public-health framing the rubric scores against. NO EVIDENCE FOUND on sanctity of life (no abortion-stance statement; Catholic parish membership is private identity, not affirmative civic position — do not infer), biblical_marriage (any cell — no Pride proclamation roll-call located), family_child_sovereignty (any cell — his only school-related quoted concern was the 2025 consolidation debate's age-mixing issue, which is child-safeguarding not CRT/SOGI/choice), christian_liberty (any cell — Catholic identity is not a public civic profession of Christ; no public-square symbol or prayer advocacy located), economic_stewardship q2 (his June 2023 NO vote on the FY2024 CIP was equity/redistribution framing, NOT fiscal restraint or BBA — 'inequity of the money being distributed' — so does not score TRUE), election_integrity (any cell — Norfolk uses paper ballots with optical scanners by state mandate; no personal Paige statement), public_justice q0 (his frame is partnership-plus-redesign with 'partner with law enforcement' rhetoric AND calling for 'a redesign of public safety' — does not clear the affirmative anti-defund high bar; bondsman business interest is structural, not stated advocacy), public_justice q1/q2/q4 (no statements located), refuse_state_overreach (any cell), border_immigration (any cell — Norfolk on the DHS 2025 sanctuary list but Paige not quoted), self_defense q0/q1 (no firearms ordinance vote during his tenure — the 2020 buildings-ban was pre-Paige and pulled before vote; his public-health framing of gun violence is already scored on q3 and the rubric should not double-score). Counter-archetype context: Catholic + USAF veteran + bail bondsman + Republican-sounding biography — but progressive-coded equity/public-health framing on guns and budget.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
Not yet verified
Candidate (if District Attorney) has committed to prosecuting illegal abortion procedures; (if mayor/council) has supported pro-life city resolutions or refused to declare 'sanctuary city for abortion'
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes embryonic stem-cell research, IVF embryo discard, and chimeric experimentation
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and quality-of-life rationing
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has never accepted Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY's List, or abortion-industry PAC funding
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes all forms of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in law
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes city/county trans-affirming policies (bathroom mandates on private businesses, Pride flag raisings at city hall, pronouns-required HR rules)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports no-fault divorce reform and policies that strengthen the marriage covenant
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes city/county Pride proclamations, Pride flags at city facilities, drag programming in libraries, and LGBT-affirming K-12 curriculum (school-board-relevant)
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) opts the district into school-choice transfers + protects homeschool freedom + opposes truancy-based criminal referrals
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) requires parental notification before any gender/sexuality counseling of minors; (mayor/council) opposes city programs facilitating minor medical procedures without parents
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) has voted to remove CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology materials from district curriculum and library shelves
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council/library board) supports local enforcement of age-verification + removes sexualized content from library children's sections
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports faith-based adoption/foster agencies and opposes placement of children with same-sex couples
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports conscience exemptions for Christian medical professionals, business owners, adoption agencies, and educators
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city/county/school board) opposes mandatory pronoun policies for staff + employees + students
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council) supports city/county Christian displays (Ten Commandments, Nativity scenes), invocation prayer at meetings, Sunday-closure where chosen by community
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes city-funded non-Christian religious displays/programming (Ramadan illumination, etc.) at city facilities
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) opposes city participation in CBDC pilot programs + supports cash-acceptance ordinances for local businesses
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (mayor/council) has voted against deficit-bond issuances for non-capital city expenditures + supports balanced city budgets without service cuts via tax increases on residents
Not yet verified
Candidate supports usury limits, anti-debt-slavery protections, and tithe-friendly tax structures
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city/county) has voted to remove city pension/treasury investment in ESG-aligned funds + opposes city participation in WEF-aligned sister-city programs
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city clerk/county election official) supports hand-counted paper ballots at local precincts where state law permits
Not yet verified
Candidate (city clerk/election official) enforces state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at local precincts
Not yet verified
Candidate supports single-day in-person voting with absentee only for verified medical/military exceptions
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes mass mail-in voting, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city clerk/council) refused acceptance of private election-administration grants ('Zuckerbucks')
Not yet verified
Candidate supports completed physical border barrier and active military border presence
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (DA/sheriff) cooperates with ICE detainers + transfers; (mayor/council) supports local cooperation with ICE rather than sanctuary policies
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) has voted against local sanctuary-city ordinances + supports city cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
Not yet verified
Candidate supports mandatory E-Verify for all employment and benefit eligibility
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, tourist births, and opposes foreign ownership of U.S. farmland
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (mayor/council) opposes local gun-registry ordinances + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/council) opposes local-ordinance red-flag/magazine/AWB analogs + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate supports repeal of the National Firearms Act (NFA), Gun Control Act (GCA), and other federal gun regulations
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws with full civil immunity for lawful defense
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes ATF overreach, citizen disarmament initiatives, and U.N. small-arms treaty participation
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
Not yet verified
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
Not yet verified
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
Not yet verified
Official has asserted local control against unconstitutional state mandates
Not yet verified
Official has declined state strings that compel ungodly or unconstitutional local policy
Not yet verified
Official has protected local citizens from state overreach (lockdowns, mandates, ESG)
Not yet verified
Official affirms subsidiarity — decisions made at the lowest competent level
Not yet verified
Official has refused to enforce unconstitutional state directives
Not yet verified
Sources & Evidence
1 Lean Left1 Center4 Official2 Reference4 Other
www.norfolk.gov/200/City-CouncilOfficial
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]Explicitly embraced the public-health framing of violent crime: 'Gun violence is a public safety concern as well as a public health concern' — and called for 'taking those that were once violent and indoctrinating them into being community leaders and community partners' rather than enforcement-first response. Literal rubric-adverse framing. Unclassified
Explicitly embraced the public-health framing of violent crime: 'Gun violence is a public safety concern as well as a public health concern' — and called for 'taking those that were once violent and indoctrinating them into being community leaders and community partners' rather than enforcement-first response. Literal rubric-adverse framing.
- [2]Explicitly embraced the public-health framing of violent crime: 'Gun violence is a public safety concern as well as a public health concern' — and called for 'taking those that were once violent and indoctrinating them into being community leaders and community partners' rather than enforcement-first response. Literal rubric-adverse framing. Unclassified
Explicitly embraced the public-health framing of violent crime: 'Gun violence is a public safety concern as well as a public health concern' — and called for 'taking those that were once violent and indoctrinating them into being community leaders and community partners' rather than enforcement-first response. Literal rubric-adverse framing.
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