2 weeks Ago By Stacy Parker
VIRGINIA BEACH — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares believes Virginia Beach can bring back several council seats that would be elected at-large and that it would enhance diversity in the city. Miyares issued a letter Jan. 30 on the city’s election system to address questions posed by Mayor Bobby Dyer.
A spokesperson for the attorney general said the letter is not an official opinion. But the perspective and analysis could lend credence to a pending lawsuit that argues the city illegally eliminated three at-large seats when it adopted a redistricting plan with 10 single member districts in 2023. Miyares’ letter may also have other implications.
It could bolster a desire by some city leaders to explore the return of a few at-large seats on the City Council. And it may throw a wrench in a bill moving through the General Assembly that seeks to align the city’s charter with its new 10-district voting system. The bill , which has passed the House of Delegates and is being heard in the Senate, will ultimately require Gov.
Glenn Youngkin’s approval. He vetoed a similar bill last year , citing the pending litigation. When Dyer heard some state legislators would push for a charter change again this year, he decided to reach out to the attorney general.
“I just wanted to know if in fact were we in violation of the Voting Rights Act,” the mayor said. The charter amendment mostly has been championed by Democrats and rebuked by Republicans over the past several years. Miyares is a Republican who resides in Virginia Beach.
The attorney general contends the city’s charter and state law provide for a 7-3-1 system with seven members elected by individual districts while the four other seats (three members plus the mayor) are elected by all voters in Virginia Beach. He goes on to write that “nothing in the federal Voting Rights Act or the Virginia Voting Rights Act requires that Virginia Beach change its system to a 10-1 system for selecting members of its city council.” Del.
Kelly Convirs-Fowler, a Virginia Beach Democrat, is the patron of HB1687, which amends the Virginia Beach charter to reflect the city’s transition to a city council consisting solely of single-member districts and the mayor. The legislation is backed by several other Virginia Beach Democratic legislators . It passed the House in a 69-26 vote with one abstention.
Convirs-Fowler did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. However, the City Council did not request the charter amendment legislation . Dyer was among the seven members against it last fall.
Some cited pending legislation challenging the redistricting of the city into 10 districts. Former Councilman Linwood Branch and several other residents contend in the lawsuit that the city “illegally manipulated the Virginia Beach electoral system by eliminating three at-large seats that are expressly established under the City Charter,” and deprived the rights of voters. No trial date has been set.
The Virginian-Pilot left messages for Branch and his attorney Wednesday. Related Articles City Politics | Virginia Beach officials considering ideas for future of Virginia MOCA property City Politics | Virginia Beach hires new economic development director City Politics | New proposal imagines Maury High School as L-shaped structure, preserves historic building City Politics | Amid rising costs, Virginia Beach may scale back projects to avert tax hike City Politics | Newport News mayor wants police force above 500 officers, pledges to streamline business permits Miyares believes a 7-3-1 system, not a 10-1 system, “would best enhance diversity in Virginia Beach.” “An approach that ignores the rich diversity across minority communities in Virginia Beach and the Commonwealth is a dangerous one.
” Miyares wrote. “As a long-time Virginia Beach resident, it is of great concern that the 10-1 system disenfranchises voters by limiting their right to vote for their council members.” Last fall, several business groups and developer Bruce Thompson lobbied council members to consider other options, including bringing back three at-large seats.
The mayor, who had supported the charter amendment legislation in the 2024 General Assembly, reversed course. In 2023, the City Council formally adopted a redistricting plan and authorized a ward-based election system, the same method used in November 2022. Virginia Beach’s election system was overhauled as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2017 (Holloway v.
City of Virginia Beach) that alleged the at-large system that allowed residents from across the city to vote in every council race was illegal and diluted minority voting power. A federal judge agreed in 2021, and the court imposed a district-based election system on Virginia Beach and appointed a special master to draw 10 new voting district maps. Deputy City Attorney Christopher Boynton has said the 10-1 system complies with the Virginia Voting Rights Act and was the city’s only viable option.
The city will continue to defend the Branch case, City Attorney Mark Stiles wrote in an email Wednesday. Stiles noted that Miyares’ views are “consistent with arguments the City previously made in federal court in the Holloway case.” The General Assembly also approved legislation in 2022 that required candidates for City Council and School Board appear only on the ballots for the voters who reside within the bounds of their district.
The effects of the changes to the city’s voter system were immediately evident. The council sworn into office in 2023 was the most diverse — and possibly the youngest — in city history with four Black representatives and four members under 45. Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.
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