Virginia Beach council votes to put election system question on November ballot
VIRGINIA BEACH — Voters in Virginia Beach will have the opportunity to cast a vote for the method in which they want to elect their City Council members.
Seven of 11 council members voted Tuesday in favor of a charter change referendum on the election system to be placed on the November ballot.
The referendum 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.
Mayor Bobby Dyer, Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson, Michael Berlucchi, Stacy Cummings, Cal 'Cash' Green, Barbara Henley and Amelia Ross-Hammond voted in support of the referendum.
David 'Hutch' Hutcheson, Worth Remick, Jennifer Rouse and Joash Schulman voted against it.
Ross-Hammond, who had not yet revealed how she would vote and has served on council twice since she was first elected in 2012, defended her support of the referendum before she voted.
'I may be the only African American up here who actually was elected with the all-large system,' Ross-Hammond said. 'A lot of that is based on the word of character.'
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She was most recently elected through the new district-based system.
'As I've listened to so many people of so many races, of so many colors, of all economic backgrounds… I believe that research will show us, if we do this, we will hear from our people,' she said.
The vote came after more than a dozen people spoke in favor of the 10-1 system and disparaged some council members for their potential vote in favor of the referendum. Some of the speakers said support of the referendum could undermine progress that has been made to diversify representation on the City Council.
'Vote against the referendum; we don't need one,' said Georgia Allen, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the change of the city's election system to district-based voting. The 10-1 system was implemented in 2022 after a federal judge deemed the at-large system illegal because it diluted minority voting power. That year, voters elected the most diverse council in city history.
Councilman Green decried criticism of his support of the referendum.
'I'm not afraid to stand up for what's right,' Green said. 'Let me lead the people of District 7, not according to some politics, but because of what's right.'
Councilwoman Rouse gave several reasons why she couldn't get behind a referendum including mistrust of its intentions.
'It's opening wounds,' Rouse said. 'I don't believe that the referendum is in good faith.'
The referendum question placed on the ballot would ask: '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?'
The 10-1 system is how voters currently elect City Council members. The mayor is elected at large by residents from across the city, but the 10 council members are elected only by residents in their 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 district.
A 2023 public survey found broad support for the 10-1 system, but several well-connected business and community associations have thrown their support behind a modified election system with at-large seats.
The referendum 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. If it 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 state lawmakers, the charter change would then require the governor's signature.
Previous efforts to enshrine the 10-1 system into law have been held up because of legal challenges. The governor vetoed a charter amendment request last year, citing a pending lawsuit. That same lawsuit challenging the validity of the city's district voting system is moving forward in court. It's unclear if the referendum or its results will have an effect on the lawsuit.
The city will soon file a petition with the Circuit Court asking it to order the referendum be placed on the November ballot, according to Christopher Boynton, deputy city attorney.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
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