Here’s who is running for Virginia Beach City Council

Five of the 11 City Council seats, including the mayor, will be on the ballot in November.

Incumbents for all seats are seeking re-election. The positions are nonpartisan and residents can vote in all races.

The Virginian-Pilot asked the candidates about their background, their priorities and views on important issues facing our city and nation.

Centerville District

Sabrina Wooten*

Age: 45

Occupation: Adjunct professor

Previous public office: City Council representative for Centerville District, 2018-present

Education: Master’s degrees in Public Administration and Business Management, Regent University

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

One of the most important concerns for the City of Virginia Beach at this time is the response to COVID-19. As a result, it is important to continually review the facts and the data to ensure proper guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of our residents.

Also, public safety is vitally important to the residents of Virginia Beach. As a former police chaplain, I am committed to working with community stakeholders, police officers and residents to ensure that our citizens feel safe.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

I am an advocate for local businesses. For instance, I hosted an Ignite Business Series Seminar twice this year to educate business owners regarding opportunities within the city of Virginia Beach to sustain their businesses. Specifically, the Ignite Business Seminar that I hosted on June 20, 2020, entitled “Small Business Recovery,” offered assistance to local businesses in the following areas: business resources, encouragement for business owners, tips on reinventing your business and resilience in challenging times.

Additionally, I am working with the Economic Development Department to ensure funding received from the Cares Act is distributed to business owners in need.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

Yes. Civil unrest all over the nation signifies that there is a gap between citizens and the Police Department. Experts report that a clear solution to addressing this gap is by developing a citizens review panel. Furthermore, the General Assembly is in the process of considering passage of legislation that will require localities to develop a citizens review panel to address this matter. As such, I am committed to working with the city manager and City Council to actively identify what an effective citizens review panel looks like for the City of Virginia Beach.

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Eric Wray

Age: 41

Occupation: President, E. Vaughn Wray Funeral Establishment in Norfolk

Previous public office: None

Education: Associate’s degree in Applied Sciences, John Tyler Community College in Chester

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

My top priority will be to restore honesty to this seat on City Council. My opponent two short years ago was elected on a slogan of “fighting for public safety,” but now is pushing for unelected panels to subpoena and attack police officers. Defunding the police is wrong and it will hurt Virginia Beach. I want to increase funding for the police so they can be fully staffed and can keep all neighborhoods and communities safe. My opponent got elected on false promises.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

While the rest of council worked hard on things like tax relief and grant programs to help those who really have been hurting economically during the pandemic, my opponent asked council to approve thousands of dollars for her personal zoom event hiring expensive speakers and highlighting her during her re-election. Council wisely rejected her idea, because real pandemic relief is helping businesses reopen and hire and making sure schools can reopen safely so children can learn in the classroom with teachers and not in a child-care center.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

I’m an African American business owner, and my message to young people is this: lots of things in life are unfair. Some people won’t like your color, your gender or how you talk. But the system must be fair to reach your fullest potential, and the harder you work, the fairer things will be. I’m a strong supporter of the police, and they have an exceptional record in Virginia Beach. Can they improve? We all can. But they are the best trained police in the country, and it’s time we defend them, not defund them.

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Kempsville District

Jessica Abbott*

Age: 31

Occupation: Insurance professional

Previous public office: City Council representative for the Kempsville District, 2017-present

Education: Kellam High School

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

Flooding. Being a FEMA-certified flood insurance agent, I understand that recurrent flooding and sea-level rise pose the greatest risk to the longevity of our region and we must be proactive. I co-sponsored alternate city budgets that better prioritized funding solutions to recurrent flooding, without raising taxes or fees, by responsibly allocating debt and letting some expensive development projects take a back seat. I sponsored an ordinance that dedicated more revenue from city projects to fund stormwater, secured funding to permanently preserve wetlands on the Elizabeth River and pushed to utilize green infrastructure to complement flooding and stormwater mitigation projects.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

This year, I supported a city budget that was flexible enough to support our city with excellent services but was lean enough to reflect the hard budgetary decisions residents were making with their own households. I advocated for no tax or fee increases, tax relief for residents and businesses, and I pushed to restore $7.7 million of previously cut funding for our schools. Our city must be self-reliant in funding our core responsibilities like public safety and we must find budgetary efficiencies in the budget that the people of Virginia Beach have entrusted us to balance.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

I believe inequalities still exist — but we can improve upon them by engaging our community and building bridges of trust to rekindle our unity. We are fortunate to have a highly-skilled, professional police force who keep our city one of the safest in the U.S. and with very low rates of incidents. They should remain fully funded. I believe we should also revamp our civilian review board to provide additional transparency and accountability and continue funding body cameras that protect both officers and residents.

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Bill Dale

Age: 72

Occupation: Financial Advisor

Previous public office: None

Education: Doctorate in Ministry, St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

My top priority is responding to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly as it affects education, economic growth, unemployment, housing and the need for food and services. These require a continuous review, mobilizing and coordinating public and private responses and effectively communicating to everyone the information required to respond safely. Inasmuch as this is expected to be a concern for the next 15 to 18 months, it will be important to confront complacency.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

Develop and begin a plan to restart small businesses that are presently being lost due to the pandemic. This will reduce unemployment and strengthen our economy. Target grants and low cost loans to provide initial funding. Develop incubators to jump start businesses and partner with business leaders to provide mentoring. Establish a COVID-19 roundtable to stay on top of this issue.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

Systemic racism is a present reality of our times. Most evident on Sunday morning, the most segregated time of the week. I strongly support nonviolent protest movements such as BLM. They are most effective at pointing out the presence of systemic racism. I support the awarding of city contracts that include minority businesses and hiring practices that reflect the makeup of our community. I support the call for a civilian review board as a means to improve our police department. My expectation is that it will be needed infrequently.

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Rose Hall District

Michael Berlucchi*

Age: 40

Occupation: Community and Government Relations Manager, Chrysler Museum of Art

Previous public office: Virginia Beach council representative for the Centerville District, 2019-present

Education: Bachelor’s in Government and International Politics, George Mason University

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

Our top priority is restoring Virginia Beach after the COVID-19 pandemic and that work has already begun. I helped create grant programs and tax policies that provided relief for small businesses and preserved jobs throughout the summer. Virginia Beach must remain safe. If businesses and neighborhoods are unsafe, economic recovery can’t happen and residents will suffer. I am a strong supporter of our police officers and public safety professionals, who showed us what heroism looks like during their response to the active shooter in our municipal center. Our public safety professionals are among the best trained and highest performing anywhere.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

We must safely reopen our economy so that residents and businesses have a chance to recover. Some industries are still shut down and virtual learning in schools has put many families in tough positions while their school-age children learn at home. We’ve supported schools by approving millions of extra revenue, knowing that they have substantial costs due to COVID. The council acted quickly to change ordinances so that when businesses were only permitted to partially reopen, they could make the most of it. We should optimize CARES Act funding by directing financial relief to Virginia Beach residents, businesses, and non-profits.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

We must strive to be the best Virginia Beach we can be, and my record shows that I am an advocate for inclusion, openness, transparency and fairness. I supported the city’s disparity study and fought to fully fund its recommendations. A divided city will not prosper. We should work together to improve police/community relations. I am a strong supporter of our excellent police force, and raising salaries was one of my first votes as a councilman. But even the best can be better and I am committed to creating a safe and equitable Virginia Beach.

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Conrad Schesventer

Age: 33

Occupation: Front desk worker at an Oceanfront Hotel

Previous public office: None

Education: Master’s in Sports Management, Old Dominion University

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

Flood mitigation. I’ll have a simple formula: don’t vote to defer flooding funding, don’t vote to cut flooding funding, and add outside revenue. I want to be a councilman who engages Richmond’s General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives, lock up billions in supplemental funding to flooding projects. Tough task, but I’m not shying away from it – the city can’t do this alone.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

The problem is massive reduction in demand. The best cure for this is a federal basic income, and federal business subsidy to retain workers. There isn’t much the city can do other than work to reduce evictions, look to inject marginal capital into hotels to help homeless. Businesses could use rent and property tax relief, but it’s not best to prolong it as we’d blow a hole in the city budget.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

There are racial inequities in society. Correct them, enhance new minority business with capital injections from a public/private partnership. Create significant police reforms beginning with a subpoena-powered civilian review board. Reform traffic stop policy focusing on bad driving, not revenue-generating boosts over taillights or stickers. Have Crisis Intervention Team training for all officers, also a city division specifically for mental health crises, without the ability to situationally escalate. Attaining this with those worshipping police departments and fearing equity is prohibitive, but if I and this group of progressive candidates get elected, we can be more productive.

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Garry Hubbard

Age: 72

Occupation: Construction contractor; U.S. Navy Veteran

Previous public office: None

Education: Two years of college.

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

One of my main priorities would be to mitigate flooding, correcting the old and outdated infrastructure, making sure storm maintenance money goes to storm maintenance and cleaning out ditches, canals and our holding ponds that have silted over.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

Helping the community by reducing the property tax and the personal property tax. We need to actually have a grant program so we can make sure we keep our businesses viable to get us through this pandemic. We need to keep people employed.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

There are racial, social and economic disparities. People also have implicit biases. Diversity is a strength and we need to prioritize inclusiveness. We do not have a level playing field. I will never know what it is like to be a Black man or woman or any person of color. We need to have a serious discussion about racial disparity. This is an ongoing struggle we are going to have to look at. We need to review qualified immunity and we need transparency in our police force. I think we need more mental health experts in policing.

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At-Large District

Rosemary Wilson

Age: 70

Occupation: Realtor

Previous public office: At-Large representative on Virginia Beach City Council, 2001-present; Virginia Beach School Board, 1996-2000

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Education, Old Dominion University

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

Our top priority is the safety and health of Virginia Beach. We must enhance the police department’s ability to maintain safety throughout the city and recruit additional officers by showing Virginia Beach values law enforcement. We must continue to flatten the COVID curve and help our small businesses and workers economically recover. I have the experience to make the tough decisions to make these things happen.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

We have to use the CARES Act funding judiciously and maximize its usefulness and stretch its impact beyond 2020. Some of these impacts of COVID-19 will go well beyond this year and some industries will be changed forever. Some businesses won’t be back. We need to focus resources to help with opening new businesses and get things on an economic growth track again. I supported tax relief and extended deadlines without penalties and interest to make sure businesses could stay afloat. My program of waiving business, professional, and occupational license taxes for new businesses should help bring new businesses into Virginia Beach.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

There are many inequities in society; economically, socially, educationally and also by race and gender. We must strive for the equality that Dr. King spoke of where people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Our police are among the best in the nation with a high level of training and use of force is rare. We need to invest more in police and be fully staffed with officers of all backgrounds. I have supported funding for body cameras and support openness and transparency as well as more community-based policing.

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Brandon Hutchins

Age: 39

Occupation: Healthcare Administration

Previous public office: None

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, ECPI University

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

Retention of our workforce, our younger generations and our veterans. For this to happen, we need to compare Virginia Beach to other cities of our size that are successfully retaining and attracting new talent. They likely have a robust transit system, diverse culture and community and affordable housing. I would work with other localities in Hampton Roads to ensure these efforts, especially transit and housing, are done effectively at the regional level. Virginia Beach is the largest city in Virginia. We should be taking every opportunity to lead the region, and the Commonwealth, in efforts to reinvigorate our city.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

I would like to see more technical assistance provided to our citizens and local businesses. There are limited resources available, but we should be guiding the businesses through the various processes, resources and programs. For example, a lot of our restaurant businesses would have benefited from a city-sponsored course on how to connect with delivery services. This may have given some of our smaller restaurants the opportunity to close the financial gap and take part in the uptick of online ordering. While the city cannot tackle issues such as a pandemic alone, we can be the first line of defense.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

Absolutely. Racial inequities are not always presented in obvious scenarios that we have seen play out in interactions with police departments. They are alive and well in housing, employment, education, economic opportunities and more. Policies should be focused on leveling the playing field by advocating for affordable housing, effectively implementing solutions from the disparity study, working effectively with our regional, state and federal partners, and encouraging an open dialogue in our communities. In terms of police reform, I would advocate for a citizen review panel that has subpoena and investigative powers. Transparency is at the center of trust.

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Nadine Paniccia

Age: 57

Occupation: VP Sales and Marketing

Previous public office: None

Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, Utica College of Syracuse University

What would be your top priority if elected and how will you implement it?

We reside in one of the most fragile coastal communities in the country. It’s the lens through which we should make planning, zoning and development decisions. As an advocate for flood mitigation, infrastructure maintenance, sustainable development and new engineering and nature-based solutions, I will continue my mission to keep these issues at the top of the priority list. Re-prioritizing our budget and collaborating with state and federal agencies will be ongoing. As a coastal community, opportunities for new economic drivers exist in cutting-edge solutions to our climate challenges that will result in new industry.

What should the council do going forward to assist people and businesses in need during the pandemic? Please explain.

I would propose an umbrella public/private partnership to assist small businesses that are struggling due to COVID-19 and to encourage new business development. ViBe Creative District is an excellent success story to show that when we invest in small business and start-ups in a strategic way, we create vibrant communities. Programs that may include waiving fees, tax breaks or incentives and entertainment tax forgiveness to create meaningful public/private outcomes that benefit the entire community, and not just one sector, will strengthen the backbone of our city: small business.

Do you believe there are racial inequities in our society? What policies and police reforms would you advocate for, if any?

Racial inequities are woven into the fabric of our country. Today’s strife, fueled by extremes of the political spectrum, have created division to foster conflict instead of dialogue. VBPD is one of the finest forces in the country. Unfortunately, it is understaffed, underpaid, under supported and working from an outdated set of principles. Restructuring how the force is incentivized and rewarding positive community outcomes will go a long way toward recruiting and retaining more officers to serve and protect our citizens. I look forward to supporting VBPD and stakeholders to create unity and safety for residents, tourists and officers alike.

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