No definitive winner in Chesapeake treasurer’s race, but Republican claims victory
CHESAPEAKE — No definitive winner was determined in Chesapeake’s city treasurer race as of Thursday, but Republican Ben White has declared victory.
Only a little more than 1,200 votes separate White from his Democratic opponent Dawn Quick, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. With only provisional ballots outstanding as of Thursday, White received 32,498 votes, or just shy of 51%, while Quick’s vote tally sits at 31,231.
Chesapeake election officials are actively meeting to canvass the election and tally outstanding provisional and mail-in absentee ballots. Chesapeake Registrar Mary Lynn Pinkerman was unable to provide a figure for the number of outstanding ballots in the race on Thursday.
White declared victory in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“Honored to serve as your next Treasurer,” White wrote. “There is much to be done. We will get started very soon!”
Neither candidate responded to The Virginian-Pilot for further comment about the race.
The city treasurer is a constitutional officer elected by voters, with certain responsibilities assigned in the Virginia code. The office collects personal property and real estate taxes, stormwater and solid waste fees and delinquent fees. The office is also responsible for investing the city’s money and reconciling bank accounts.
Longtime Republican Barbara Carraway served as city treasurer for more than 30 years until this summer, when she resigned shortly after Chesapeake City Council voted to transfer some of her duties to city staff due to performance issues. Those included the management of city bank accounts, cash and investments and billing services.
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The ultimate winner of the race will serve a term that expires in 2026.
White, 54, is the city’s current deputy director of economic development. As a former deputy city treasurer, he once served under Carraway. He’s also spent time as a city public utility accountant, deputy sheriff and general manager of the Chesapeake Conference Center.
White previously told the Pilot his biggest priorities include modernizing the office for efficiency, filling vacancies and improve the current billing process. He also suggested exploring whether students could gain hands-on work experience in the office to help address staffing issues.
Quick, 53, served the city for 20 years until last year, working in various roles including deputy commissioner of the revenue, business tax specialist, accountant, revenue tax auditor and business tax manager. She ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign for the Commissioner of Revenue race in 2021.
Quick previously said she sees hiring a competent team and building a modernization plan for the office as top priorities, in addition to building rapport across city departments and leaders. She said modernization of the systems and functions also protects the city from being more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
