After lawsuits called for mayor candidate to resign from city council, Chesapeake looks to amend charter

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The City of Chesapeake will hold a public hearing asking the General Assembly to amend its city charter, following two lawsuits that challenged the eligibility of a mayoral candidate earlier this year.

The lawsuits had called for Chesapeake City Councilman Don Carey to resign from the council in order to run for mayor. Last month, a judge threw out those lawsuits, allowing Carey to remain on the council as the election progresses.

RELATED: Lawsuits dismissed in Chesapeake mayoral race

The city is now looking to amend its charter to help alleviate confusion going forward and has scheduled a public hearing for the community's input.

In a notice about the public hearing, the City of Chesapeake stated:

TAKE NOTICE that the Chesapeake City Council will conduct a public hearing on a resolution to request that the General Assembly amend the Chesapeake City Charter to clarify the date by which a sitting Council member must resign in order to run for the office Mayor, along with the date on which such Mayor's term, and the term of any member succeeding to such Mayor council seat must begin. The amendment would also clarify that at elections to fill a Council vacancy not caused by a member's resignation to run for Mayor will occur at the general election date set by the Virginia Code.

The proposed resolution states a member of council who is running for mayor can tender their resignation one calendar day before the date of the next regular term for the office of the mayor begins. 

Currently, the charter states the resignation would be effective on June 30 of the election year. This is because Chesapeake used to hold its municipal elections in May, with the new term beginning on July 1. The city has since moved elections to coincide with the November Election Day, and a new term now begins on January 1.  But the charter was never updated to consider those new dates.

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The address for City Hall is 306 Cedar Road.

You can view the full text of the proposed resolution by clicking here.