Virginia Beach City Council
The Virginia Beach City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Virginia Beach and its more than 400,000 citizens. It has 11 members that serve four-year terms and are elected on a staggered basis. General elections are held the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in even-numbered years. All registered voters are eligible to vote for all members of City Council. Three Council Members and the Mayor serve "At Large" with no district residency requirement. All other Council Members are required to live in the districts they represent: Bayside, Beach, Centerville, Kempsville, Lynnhaven, Princess Anne, and Rose Hall. The Council holds regular meetings on alternate Tuesday evenings on the second floor of the Virginia Beach City Hall.[1]
Virginia Beach City Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | January 1, 1963 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 11 |
 | |
Political groups | Officially nonpartisan
|
Length of term | 4 Years |
| Elections | |
| Single-member districts | |
Last general election | November 3, 2020 |
Next general election | November 8, 2022 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Virginia Beach City Hall Virginia Beach Municipal Center Virginia Beach, VA | |
| Website | |
| https://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/city-clerk/city-council/ | |
| Constitution | |
| Charter of Virginia Beach | |
History
1988
Starting with the fall 1988 election, the city's mayor was chosen directly by voters. Previously, the mayor was appointed from among city council members elected to represent the city's various boroughs. In that election, Meyera Oberndorf became the city's first female mayor and first to be directly elected.[2]
1998
In 1998, Virginia Beach abolished its system of boroughs from which seven council members were elected from and formed in their place seven new districts including Centerville, Kempsville, Rose Hall, Bayside, Lynnhaven, Beach, and Princess Anne.[3]
2020
On October 6, 2020, a trial began in Virginia Beach between residents Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen and the City of Virginia Beach. Filing their lawsuit in 2017, the residents allege that the city's process for electing members to the city council violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The lawsuit claims that the current system unlawfully dilutes minority voting strength and denies minorities an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.[4] That same day, the city council cancelled their regular meeting after council member John Moss tested positive for COVID-19.[5] Two days later, it was announced that, due to the ongoing pandemic, council meetings would now be held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.[6]
Current council
| District | Councilmember[7] | Districts and Neighborhoods Represented | Took Office | Party (Officially nonpartisan)[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Large (Mayor) | Bobby Dyer (Mayor) | Entire city | 2018 | Republican | |
| At Large (A) | Rosemary Wilson | Entire city | 2001 | Republican | |
| At Large (B1) | John Moss | Entire city | 2011 | Republican | |
| At Large (B2) | Aaron Rouse | Entire city | 2019 | Democratic | |
| 1 | Sabrina Wooten | Centerville () | 2019 | Democratic | |
| 2 | Jessica Abbott | Kempsville (Acredale, Arrowhead, Avalon Hills, Bellamy Manor, Carolanne Farms, College Park, Fairfield, Indian Lakes, Lake Christopher, Lake James, Larkspur, Point o' View, Salem, Stratford Chase, and Whitehurst Landing) | 2017 | Libertarian | |
| 3 | Michael Berlucchi | Rose Hall (Green Run) | 2019 | Republican | |
| 4 | Louis Jones | Bayside () | 1983 | Republican | |
| 5 | James Wood (Vice-Mayor) | Lynnhaven (Castleton, Christopher Farms, Courthouse Estates, Holland Oaks, Holland Woods, Indian River Plantation, Green Run, Lago Mar, Lake Placid, Pine Ridge, Princess Anne Woods, Red Mill Farms, Rolling Wood, and Strawbridge) | 2003 | Republican | |
| 6 | Guy Tower | Beach (Seatack) | 2019 | Democratic | |
| 7 | Barbara Henley | Princess Anne (Lago Mar, Pungo, Sandbridge, Sigma) | 2007 | Democratic | |
Past councils
1963-1998
| Year | District[9] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Large (Mayor) | At Large (A) | At Large (B1) | At Large (B2) | 1 Bayside | 2 Blackwater | 3 Kempsville | 4 Lynnhaven | 5 Princess Anne | 6 Pungo | 7 Virginia Beach | |
| 1963 | Mayors chosen internally from among council members |
Lawrence E. Marshall | James E. Snyder | Swindell Pollock | James E. Darden | S. Paul Brown | Kenneth N. Whitehurst | W. H. Kitchin, Jr. | |||
| 1964 | Earl M. Tebault | ||||||||||
| 1965 | A. L. Bonney | ||||||||||
| 1966 | G. Dewey Simmons, Jr. | ||||||||||
| 1967 | J. Curtis Payne | ||||||||||
| 1968 | |||||||||||
| 1969 | |||||||||||
| 1970 | Clarence A. Holland | Donald H. Rhodes | F. Reid Ervin | Floyd E. Waterfield, Jr. | |||||||
| 1971 | Robert H. Callis, Jr. | ||||||||||
| 1972 | John A. Baum | ||||||||||
| 1973 | |||||||||||
| 1974 | J. Henry McCoy, Jr. | John R. Griffin | |||||||||
| 1975 | |||||||||||
| 1976 | Roger L. Riggs | ||||||||||
| 1977 | |||||||||||
| 1978 | Donald W. Merrick | J. Curtis Payne | Barbara M. Henley | ||||||||
| 1979 | |||||||||||
| 1980 | Reba S. McClanan | W. H. Kitchin, III | |||||||||
| 1981 | |||||||||||
| 1982 | Louis R. Jones | H. Jack Jennings | |||||||||
| 1983 | |||||||||||
| 1984 | Robert E. Fentress | ||||||||||
| 1985 | |||||||||||
| 1986 | John Moss | Albert W. Balko | |||||||||
| 1987 | |||||||||||
| 1988 | Meyera Oberndorf | ||||||||||
| 1989 | |||||||||||
| 1990 | Robert W. Clyburn | James W. Brazier, Jr. | Paul J. Lanteigne | ||||||||
| 1991 | |||||||||||
| 1992 | Robert K. Dean | Linwood O. Branch, III | |||||||||
| 1993 | |||||||||||
| 1994 | Louisa M. Strayhorn | W. W. Harrison, Jr. | Barbara M. Henley | ||||||||
| 1995 | |||||||||||
| 1996 | Reba S. McClanan | ||||||||||
| 1997 | |||||||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||||
| Year | At Large (Mayor) | At Large (A) | At Large (B1) | At Large (B2) | 1 Bayside | 2 Blackwater | 3 Kempsville | 4 Lynnhaven | 5 Princess Anne | 6 Pungo | 7 Virginia Beach |
| District | |||||||||||
1998-present
| Year | District[9] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Large (Mayor) | At Large (A) | At Large (B1) | At Large (B2) | 1 Centerville | 2 Kempsville | 3 Rose Hall | 4 Bayside | 5 Lynnhaven | 6 Beach | 7 Princess Anne | |
| 1998 | Meyera Oberndorf | Harold Heischober | Will Sessoms | Margaret L. Eure | A. M. "Don" Weeks | Reba S. McClanan | Louis R. Jones | W. W. Harrison, Jr. | Linwood O. Branch, III | Barbara M. Henley | |
| 1999 | |||||||||||
| 2000 | John A. Baum | Robert C. Mandigo, Jr. | |||||||||
| 2001 | Rosemary Wilson | ||||||||||
| 2002 | Ron Villanueva | Peter W. Schmidt | James L. Wood | Richard A. Maddox | Jim Reeve | ||||||
| 2003 | Harry E. Diezel | ||||||||||
| 2004 | Bobby Dyer | ||||||||||
| 2005 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | Bill DeSteph | John E. Uhrin | Barbara M. Henley | ||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||||
| 2009 | Will Sessoms | Glenn Davis | |||||||||
| 2010 | Rita Sweet Bellitto | ||||||||||
| 2011 | Prescott Sherrod | ||||||||||
| 2012 | John Moss | ||||||||||
| 2013 | Amelia N. Ross-Hammond | ||||||||||
| 2014 | Brad Martin | Shannon Kane | |||||||||
| 2015 | M. Ben Davenport | ||||||||||
| 2016 | |||||||||||
| 2017 | Jessica P. Abbott | ||||||||||
| 2018 | Bobby Dyer | Sabrina Wooten | |||||||||
| 2019 | Aaron Rouse | Michael Berlucchi | David Nygaard | ||||||||
| 2020 | Guy Tower | ||||||||||
| Year | At Large (Mayor) | At Large (A) | At Large (B1) | At Large (B2) | 1 Centerville | 2 Kempsville | 3 Rose Hall | 4 Bayside | 5 Lynnhaven | 6 Beach | 7 Princess Anne |
| District | |||||||||||
Election results
2020 general election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Rosemary A. Wilson[lower-alpha 1] | 108,723 | 53.89 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brandon C. Hutchins[lower-alpha 2] | 71,577 | 35.47 | |
| Nonpartisan | Nadine Marie Paniccia[lower-alpha 3] | 20,820 | 10.32 | |
| Write-in | 649 | 0.32 | ||
| Total votes | 201,769 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Sabrina D. Wooten[lower-alpha 2] | 102,645 | 44.90 | |
| Nonpartisan | Eric V. Wray, II[lower-alpha 1] | 84,098 | 54.81 | |
| Write-in | 542 | 0.29 | ||
| Total votes | 187,285 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jessica P. Abbott[lower-alpha 4] | 116,971 | 62.38 | |
| Nonpartisan | William J. "Bill" Dale[lower-alpha 2] | 70,030 | 37.35 | |
| Write-in | 498 | 0.27 | ||
| Total votes | 187,499 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Michael F. Berlucchi[lower-alpha 1] | 106,091 | 57.53 | |
| Nonpartisan | C. Conrad Schesventer II[lower-alpha 2] | 50,986 | 27.65 | |
| Nonpartisan | Garry B. Hubbard[lower-alpha 2] | 26,578 | 14.41 | |
| Write-in | 752 | 0.41 | ||
| Total votes | 184,407 | 100 | ||
References
- "City Council :: VBgov.com - City of Virginia Beach". Virginia Beach Government. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- Matray, Margaret (March 14, 2015). "Former Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf dies". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- "Charter of Virginia Beach". Virginia Legislative Information System. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- Harper, Jane (October 6, 2020). "Trial challenging Virginia Beach's at-large council voting system begins in federal court". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- Skelton, Alissa (October 6, 2020). "Virginia Beach council cancels meeting after member tests positive for COVID-19". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- Skelton, Alissa (October 8, 2020). "Virginia Beach City Council moves meetings to Convention Center due to pandemic". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- "City Council Members :: VBgov.com - City of Virginia Beach". Virginia Beach Government. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- "Our Campaigns - United States - Virginia - Counties - Virginia Beach - Virginia Beach City Council". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- "History of Council Members :: VBgov.com - City of Virginia Beach". Virginia Beach Government. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- "2020 November General Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
Notes
- This candidate is affiliated with the Republican Party
- This candidate is affiliated with the Democratic Party
- This candidate is not affiliated with any party
- This candidate is affiliated with the Libertarian Party
