Should Virginia Beach have at-large council members? Election system may be put to a vote
The City Council will vote next month on whether to include a charter change referendum question on this year's ballot. The question would ask voters whether they want to keep the current single-member district system or if they support a voting system with some at-large seats on council.
Public comment on the potential referendum question will be heard April 15 and the council will vote on it May 6.
The 10-1 voting system is the way voters currently elect City Council members. The mayor is elected at large by residents from across the city, but each of the 10 council members are elected only by voters who live in their voting district. The referendum could open the door to a modified 7-3-1 system, in which three council members would serve in at-large seats and all residents could vote for them. Under that system, the remaining seven members would be elected by residents only in their voting district.
The proposed referendum question would be: 'Should the method of city council elections set forth in the Virginia Beach City Charter be changed from a modified 7-3-1 system to a 10-1 system?'
It includes the following explanation:
A 'yes' vote means that you support the 10-1 system, which was used in the 2022 and 2024 city council elections. In the 10-1 system, the city is divided into 10 districts and the voters of each district elect a single council member with the mayor elected at-large (city-wide).
A 'no' vote means you support the 7-3-1 system described in the current city charter as modified by a general law change that occurred in 2021. In the modified 7-3-1 system, the city is divided into 7 districts and the voters of each district elect a single council member, with three other council members and the mayor elected at-large (city-wide).
The question, proposed by the city attorney's office on Tuesday, aims to address a conflict between the charter and the city's 2023 redistricting ordinance, in which the city adopted its 10-1 voting system.
Several council members said they won't support it.
'What are we asking for, to go back to the 7-3-1 system?' said Councilwoman Jennifer Rouse. 'We have seen progress with the single-member districts. A return to at-large is a return to what we came from.'
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Mayor Bobby Dyer wants to hear from voters.
'I think we owe it to the public,' he said. 'It's not only the question on the ballot, it's the education about what is going on. I feel the obligation to go to the public to say, 'What do you think?''
Council member Stacy Cummings agreed.
'This is one of the most sacred rights we have is the right to vote, and the citizens have not been asked how they want to elect their council members,' Cummings said. 'Let's hear what the people have to say.'
Previously, every City Council seat was at large and voters across the city could vote for every council member. The 10-1 election system was implemented in 2022 after a federal judge deemed the previous at-large system illegal because it diluted minority voting power. That year, voters elected the most diverse council in city history.
The plaintiffs in that lawsuit have threatened immediate federal court legal challenge if City Council takes any steps toward using the modified charter system for future elections, according to Deputy City Attorney Christopher Boynton.
A public communication plan for the referendum question could cost roughly $500,000 and would include public forums, TV advertisements and direct mail, Tiffany Russell, the city's communications director, said at the meeting. The city previously spent more than $700,000 on public education campaigns on the election system and redistricting, Russell said.
'It's a lot of money devoted to this issue that it looks like will not necessarily end after this referendum,' Rouse said.
Boynton said Virginia Beach has until Aug. 15 to submit a referendum question to the Circuit Court for review and approval in order for it be placed on the November ballot. If the referendum passes — if the majority of voters want the city charter changed to reflect the 10-1 system — it will be delivered to Virginia Beach's General Assembly delegation for introduction in the 2026 session. If approved by the General Assembly, it would then require the governor's signature.
Council members David 'Hutch' Hutcheson and Joash Schulman both said they won't vote for a referendum.
'I believe that revisiting this issue in this fashion sends a signal that we're looking backwards,' Schulman said.
Previous efforts to enshrine the 10-1 system into law have been held up due to legal challenges. The governor vetoed a charter amendment request last year citing a pending lawsuit.
The same lawsuit challenging the validity of the city's district voting system is currently moving forward in court. The plaintiffs recently filed a motion for summary judgement, Boynton said, but a hearing has not been scheduled.
Boynton said Tuesday a referendum is one possibility to potentially break the stalemate in the General Assembly.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
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