THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030537
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 63 lines
As of 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Virginia Beach City Council has 121 years of combined experience.
That's when former City Council member Reba S. McClanan was sworn in.
McClanan, who served 12 years on council before stepping down to run unsuccessfully for mayor four years ago, was the sole newcomer to the body Tuesday. She replaced Robert K. Dean, who served one four-year term.
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf was also sworn in for her third term as mayor, and council members Harold Heischober, John A. Baum and Linwood O. Branch III took the oath of office for their fifth, seventh, and second times, respectively.
The mood was jovial, bordering on giddy.
Council members, unanimously prepared to reinstall W.D. Sessoms Jr. as their vice mayor, joked about instead appointing council member William W. Harrison - one of Sessoms' best friends.
When they got serious, Baum, not known for lavishing praise on anyone, nominated Sessoms for a third term as vice mayor.
``I've been real pleased with our vice mayor these last two terms,'' Baum said. ``He's contributed a great deal to the consensus on council.''
As evidence of that consensus, the council supported Sessoms 11-0, and he was administered the oath of office, as were the others, by Clerk of Court J. Curtis Fruit.
In a brief speech, Sessoms credited the council's willingness to work together and his ``great relationship'' with the mayor for many recent successes, including the opening of the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, the expansion of the Virginia Marine Science Museum and the beginning of construction on the Lake Gaston pipeline.
Oberndorf also thanked Sessoms and the other council members for acting with more civility toward each another over the last two years. The council, once known for regular sniping and harshly divided positions, now makes most major decisions unanimously or with only one or two dissenting votes.
``The wins have been magnificent, and they have occurred because this council has pulled together,'' the mayor said.
McClanan said that during her time off the council she gained new insights into what citizens care about and what they want their council to accomplish.
``It was good for me to step back from a lot of things and look from a different perspective,'' she said.
McClanan said she hopes to help bring more quality projects to Virginia Beach, making it a ``top resort'' instead of just a beach; a leader in the region and state, ``not just the largest city in the state.''
In other business Tuesday, the City Council accepted a $150,000 grant to improve coordination of traffic signals at 75 of the city's intersections and approved raises for the four city employees who report directly to the council.
City Manager James K. Spore's annual salary will rise $5,000 to $125,400; City Attorney Leslie L. Lilley will earn $105,000, up from $90,177; City Clerk Ruth Hodges Smith will make $57,000, from $53,773; and City Real Estate Assessor Jerald Banagan will earn $69,000 a year, up from $63,329. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MORT FRYMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
Reba McClanan was sworn in Tuesday as the newest Virginia Beach City
Council member.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL by CNB