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Mayor Wright on relationship with media: ‘I want Portsmouth to be treated fairly’

Posted at 10:23 PM, Apr 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-14 22:43:35-04

Mayor Kenny Wright said he feels like Portsmouth is being portrayed to negatively in the media.

"I want to be treated the same way that you guys treat Will Sessoms and Paul Fraim, McKinley Price and Alan Krasner."

Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright feels a bit picked on by the media, which is why he said he has refused to answer questions on various controversial issues in the past.

"You tend to cut and paste things and make things appear that way they're not and I think that is so unfair," Wright said.

He says issues like him allegedly eluding Sheriff Watson, getting arrested, and then having those charges dismissed in court take away from the good things that are happening in the city, like the $160 million in private sector money being put in for new construction and redevelopment.

"Look out my window. You can see for them and a hundred million dollars being invested in my downtown--that's huge," Wright said.

He says over the next two months, council will be thoroughly reviewing the proposed budget they received from the city manager.

"This is where the rubber meets the road and everything revolves around this budget, all of your future stories in Portsmouth," Wright said.

He says he understands it's the job of elected officials to take criticism and despite all of the drama associated with the position, he would do it all again.

"I'm sitting here looking and thinking the price you pay to make a difference in your community and I'm willing to go through that type of embarrassment again if it helps make change in our community because of those type of tactics."

Wright says he thoroughly enjoys his job and understands he can't control the media and has no problem shutting them off. He also admitted that he likes being in control.