3 candidates vying to fill Va. Beach City Council seat

VIRGINIA BEACH — Just when you thought election season was in the rear-view mirror, another one is on the horizon.

Three candidates are competing to fill the City Council’s vacant District 1 seat. Virginia Beach will hold a special election Jan. 9.

Early voting begins Wednesday at the Voter Registration and Elections Office located at Building 14 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, 2449 Princess Anne Road.

The candidates are David “Hutch” Hutcheson, 57; Teresa Gladney, 59; and John Napier, 43.

Hutcheson is a retired city fire chief and president of the Woodstock Civic League who believes his experience working with other city department leaders and a large budget will serve him well on the City Council.

“I’ve gleaned a lot of knowledge,” Hutcheson said. “I can hit the ground running.”

Gladney is the first in her family to graduate from college, according to her website. She has volunteer experience and has been an activist for community change in the Whitehurst

Grove neighborhood. She wants to preserve farmland and take a regional approach to flood mitigation.

Napier is an attorney and mediator who wants to use his bridge-building skills to “bring unity to the council,” he said. His wants to lower the cost of living for residents and increase the city’s affordable housing stock.

Only residents of the district will be able to vote in the special election. District 1 includes portions of Kempsville, Bellamy Manor and Lake Christopher.

Former Councilman Rocky Holcomb resigned from the seat Sept. 29 to become sheriff. Longtime Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle had announced his retirement earlier this year and tapped Holcomb, the chief deputy, as his replacement.

The District 1 term expires Dec. 31, 2024. Council members decided to hold a special election instead of appointing an interim member given the amount of time left to serve.

The cost for the special election will be about $185,000, according to the city.