DECEIVING MAILERS:

I got another of those lying mailers claiming I wouldn’t be able to vote in every Virginia Beach election unless I vote “no” in the referendum. But I live in District 8 which, like Districts 2, 4, 6, 9 and 10, will vote for our City Council member in 2026 and for the mayor in 2028.

We’ve had two elections with the current 10-1 system, which gives us an accountable City Council member representing a modest 1/10th of the whole city. No one seemed to feel left out of an election, any more than every sixth year when Virginia doesn’t elect a U.S. senator.

Then I wondered about all the money being poured into this campaign to make Virginia Beach give up its 10-1 system. Who is paying and why? I looked on the Virginia Public Access Project and learned that the PAC behind the “no” campaign has amassed more than $500,000: $280,500 from real estate/construction, $206,000 from retail services, and the rest scattered across nine other categories.

My neighbors and I cannot afford to donate $25,000 to a political campaign. I believe these deep-pocket donors want to claw back three at-large seats on the City Council so they can use the same financial advantage to elect people who will support their wishes, instead of listening to community voters. The 10-1 system has finally given the people of Virginia Beach a real voice in local elections. I hope we vote “yes” to keep it.

Carolyn Caywood, Virginia Beach

SOURCE: Virginian Pilot Article

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VOTING RIGHTS

In 2022, I moved to Virginia Beach to live closer to my daughter and family members. And I have grown to love this city, its beauty, vibrant culture and history.

I live in District 10, ably represented by Council member Jennifer Rouse. My neighbors are young military families, seniors and numerous young families who wish to buy their first home but cannot afford it. As city residents, we have our unique issues to be represented on the City Council, as do all other districts on the 10-1 voting system.

I support voting “yes” for the 10-1 referendum. We have used the 10-1 voting system for the last two local elections. The 10-1 system assures that all Virginia Beach communities have a representative on the Virginia Beach City Council. The 10-1 system ensures fair, equal, accountable representation. In a comprehensive survey and poll conducted by the University of Virginia, 81% of Virginia Beach residents preferred the 10-1 system. The all at-large voting system in effect (prior to the 10-1 system) was a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There is misinformation being spread that the illegal 7-3-1 system is better for Virginia Beach. By giving voice and power equally to each district, our voting system assures equal representation. Vote “yes” for 10-1 to keep our democracy fair for all voters.

Susan Lee Feathers, Virginia Beach

SOURCE: Virginian Pilot Article

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VOTING REFERENDUM

Education without the whole truth isn’t education. It’s propaganda. This November’s referendum on Virginia Beach’s City Council voting system may look simple, but only if you ignore decades of history: federal judge rulings, surveys, a citywide “education” push and even councilmembers’ cash shaping the outcome.

In 1994, voters approved ending the at-large system. By 1996, the General Assembly, led by state Sen. Ken Stolle, rewrote the referendum to ask whether residents wanted to vote for “11 councilmembers or just 5.” That sleight of hand buried the issue of equal representation. Years later, a federal judge ruled that Virginia Beach’s at-large system violated the Voting Rights Act. The referendum before us asks residents to approve what courts have already ruled unlawful.

Afterward, City Council requested a charter amendment. I carried that in the General Assembly and got it passed. Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed it, the first veto of any charter amendment in decades.

A 2023 UVA survey found nearly 80% of residents feel represented under the 10-1 system, this fact is missing from city messaging. Instead, propaganda is everywhere. The city is paying people to sit in libraries through Election Day to funnel voters to its official website, where the information is one-sided. The PAC Every Vote Counts amplifies that message with signs and more than $330,000 in spending … including $10,000 from Councilman Stacy Cummings. That’s not education. It’s corruption disguised as choice.

Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, Virginia Beach

SOURCE: Virginian Pilot Article

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BIG MONEY

Signs are popping up all over Virginia Beach exhorting people to oppose the 10-1 voting system to protect their right to vote. George Orwell would be impressed by this Newspeak.

Beach voters will choose between the 10-1 system: 10 districts electing their own member of council and all voting for mayor. Or the 7-3-1 system, seven districts electing a member of council, three council members elected at-large, and all voting for the mayor.

In 2005, I ran for office in Virginia’s 14th Senate District, which is roughly the same population size as Virginia Beach. I learned that it is impossible to mount an effective campaign to that many voters without big money backing. You simply can’t knock on 100,000 doors to make your case to each family individually. In Virginia Beach, big money is the developers and the resort area.

In the 7-3-1 system, the mayor’s office and the three at-large seats are simply out of reach for non-establishment candidates, and the remaining seven seats are almost twice as large as in the 10-1 system.

In the at-large districts, all big money has to do is to dominate the advertising and maybe token fund a few spoiler candidates to split the anti-establishment vote. You might as well just let the Chamber of Commerce select the city council and save the cost of the election.

If you have any doubts about the dominance of big money in the 7-3-1 campaign, who do you think is paying for all those signs?

William D. Tabor, Virginia Beach

SOURCE: Virginian Pilot Article

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WVEC | Alex Littlehales (WVEC)

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WHRO | By John-Henry Doucette

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WHRO | By John-Henry Doucette

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WHRO | By John-Henry Doucette

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Stacy Parker, The Virginian-Pilot

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