THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160198
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Seven School Board seats and five spots on the City Council are up for grabs May 7, giving voters a bigger chance than at any other time in the city's history to impact local politics.
The races have yet to heat up - only one candidate has announced for the School Board and two for the council - but the filing deadline is near. Candidates must submit petitions with 125 valid voter signatures to the registrar by 7 p.m. March 5.
A candidacy packet - petition form, declaration of candidacy, statement of economic interest and candidate qualification packet - can be obtained from the State Board of Elections in Richmond (1-800-552-9745).
Candidates must have lived in Virginia for at least a year and must reside in the borough in which they are running by the filing deadline. A candidate also must be at least 18 years old by May 7, be a registered voter and a U.S. citizen.
The School Board has more open seats than the council because one board member was forced to step down and another has resigned voluntarily since the last election two years ago. Those vacancies - an at-large seat and the Lynnhaven borough seat - were filled by the circuit court last year, but they will be filled by voters in May.
The Blackwater, Beach and Princess Anne borough seats on both the council and the School Board also are up for grabs, as is the mayor's and an at-large seat on the council and two more at-large slots on the School Board. The borough seats must be filled by a resident of that borough, but all voters can vote for all candidates.
Candidates running for the three borough seats on the council will serve only two-year terms instead of the usual four, to accommodate redistricting mandated last year by the General Assembly.
Because of an oversight, the legislature forgot to include the School Board in its redistricting bill. Legislators are expected to correct that mistake this session, meaning that the three School Board borough slots also would be for two-year terms.
The General Assembly ordered redistricting because it felt the current borough system is unfair. The population of the boroughs ranges from under 1,000 in rural Blackwater to nearly 150,000 in Kempsville.
Under a new plan, approved by council early this month, the voting districts will have about 56,000 residents each. To prevent council and board members from losing or gaining thousands of constituents under redistricting, the General Assembly required the three borough seats to expire in 1998 when the new district map takes effect.
The General Assembly also required that voters be given another chance to consider a modified ward system, where the district representatives are elected only by the residents of their district, rather than citywide. Voters approved redistricting and a ward system in 1992, but critics of the change said the ballot language misled voters. In May, voters will get to voice their opinion on wards again. ILLUSTRATION: CITY COUNCIL
Mayor - held by Meyera E. Oberndorf
At-large - held by Harold Heischober
Princess Anne Borough - held by Robert K. Dean
Virginia Beach Borough - held by Linwood O. Branch III
Blackwater Borough - held by John A. Baum
SCHOOL BOARD
At-Large - held by Joseph D. Taylor
At-Large - held by Ferdinand V. Tolentino
At-Large - held by Donald F. Bennis
Princess Anne Borough - held by Robert W. Hall
Virginia Beach Borough - held by D. Linn Felt
Blackwater Borough - open due to resignation of Susan L.
Creamer
Lynnhaven Borough - held by Karen O. O'Brien
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS
VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCILMANIC RACE by CNB