Chesapeake elects 6 new Republican-endorsed candidates to school board

Nour Habib, The Virginian-Pilot
·2 min read

The Republican-endorsed ticket swept the Chesapeake school board election.

Amanda Grace Dean, Michael K. “Mike” Lamonea, Kim Scott, Brittany Walker, John McCormick and Norman Pool have been elected to the board. Dean, Lamonea, Scott, Walker and McCormick received the most votes in the at-large general election, winning a four-year term to the board. A total of 13 candidates were on the general election ballot.

In the special election, Pool defeated Jeremy Rodden and Brenda Johnson. Dana Cormier, whose name still appeared on the ballot, had dropped out of the race. Pool will serve for the rest of an unexpired term that will end in 2024.

With all but one precinct reporting, Scott received 41,930 votes, Walker 39,443, Dean 38,654, McCormick 37,899 and Lamonea 37,491. The sixth-place candidate in the general election, Shirley P. Auguste, had 31,924 votes.

In the special election, Pool received 34,838 votes.

The winners are all new to the board — no incumbent was on the ballot this year. When the winners take office, the majority of the nine-member board will comprise newcomers.

All but one of the incoming board members have also never held public office. McCormick served on the Chesapeake Planning Commission.

The new members will bring expertise from various fields. Dean is an associate partner at a management consulting firm, specializing in supply chain digital transformations. Lamonea is a director at Juniper Networks and a retired Department of Homeland Security special agent/executive. Scott is an OB/GYN Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Walker has a background in education; she is currently a partner program manager and is a former teacher and assistant principal. McCormick is an attorney and owns his own law and consulting firm. Pool is a business executive.

None of the leading candidates could be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The board governs a district that serves more than 40,000 students.

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com