Public Comments for: HB1687 - Charter; City of Virginia Beach.
Last Name: Sullivan Locality: Virginia Beach

This charter change HB1687 reflects a decennial redistricting ordinance passed by our Virginia Beach City Council. This charter change was approved by a prior 9 - 1 Virginia Beach City Council vote. This charter change was approved in 2023 by our AG Jason Miyares and has been in use ever since. This charter change was approved by the 2024 General Assembly, both the House and Senate. This charter change is supported by over 80% of the voters of Virginia Beach, per a study conducted by the Weldon-Cooper Center. There are many cities across the United States, some the same size as VB, some larger, which are effectively governed by City Councils elected using Single Member Districts. Some of these cities have a singular area of economic interest, which is effectively managed by their Single Member District City Councils. A few of our VBCC members have recently expressed uncertainty as to how to govern here. They have many examples of successful City Councils across our country to draw from. Then again, with passage of this charter change I suspect they will be quick to figure it out. I urge this committee to support this bill.

End of Comments