Joe Morrissey says he knows why he won a seat on Petersburg City Council

PETERSBURG, Va. — Joe Morrissey has won a seat on Petersburg City Council, defeating a long-sitting member of the body and vowing to get to work repairing streets and tearing down blighted homes in the 5th Ward.

Morrissey tells CBS 6 it was five months ago when he began working to win the seat. He beat the incumbent Tuesday night, and the win was official on November 3rd.

"The results have me winning 65 percent to 35 percent," Morrissey said.

Morrissey, a controversial figure in Virginia politics, has served in various positions over the last three decades, including Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney in the 1990s and later in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia State Senate. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Richmond in 2016.

In early 2022, outgoing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam pardoned Morrissey, who was jailed after a sex scandal that involved a 17-year-old receptionist who later became his wife. They are no longer married.

As for why he believes people voted for him, Morrissey pointed to his approach.

"It was won by the way I campaigned. It was lost by the way Howard Myers handled things, the way he handled business," Morrissey said. "At the end of the day, Joe gets things done."

Morrissey says the reason for running was simple.

"I ran because I want to continue changes I started in the Senate, and we're going to do it," he said.

As for using his newly won seat as a stepping stone back to the General Assembly, Morrissey says Petersburg comes first and that he intends to serve his full term.

CBS 6 Political Correspondent Dr. Bob says Morrissey has a way of re-inventing himself.

"He's not a youngster any longer but he hasn't lost his energy. He's the most polarizing figure around here that we've probably ever seen, in some ways. But he doesn't let defeat knock him down, gets back up, finds a place to run and finds a place he can win," Dr. Bob said.

Morrissey says he is ready to get started once he gets his vote on City Council.

"I'm going to repair streets, I'm going to knock down those blighted homes, the excavators are going to be rolling. That's what's going to happen," Morrissey said.

Morrissey will officially take office with Petersburg City Council on January 5.