VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Delceno Miles is Virginia Beach City Council's pick to replace longtime member Louis Jones.
Jones passed away in June after representing the Bayside District for more than 35 years.
Before Mayor Bobby Dyer and the rest of council made their decision, they heard from citizens on who they wanted to step into the role out of Charlotte Zito, Delceno Miles and Ronald Ridley.
People who spoke on behalf of Miles described her as a leader, dedicated to the community and someone who gets the job done.
In a 9-1 vote, Miles was appointed to the Bayside District seat Tuesday evening.
Miles is the president and CEO of The Miles Agency, a Virginia Beach-based marketing and public relations firm that she founded in 1989.
She's also served on the Virginia Beach School Board. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University and her M.A. in Communications from Regent University.
"I’m feeling blessed, humbled, completely surprised," she said following the vote.
Miles, emotional after the decision, said she knows she has big shoes to fill.
"We lost a big champion of the city, so it’s a bittersweet moment because no one can replace Louis Jones," Miles said.
She said her priority once she is officially sworn in is, in part, continuing Jones’ work.
"To continue to move the ball on the Burton Station community because Louis Jones was a big, passionate advocate for that and certainly hear what the priorities of the city council are."
Miles will officially take her seat on the dais during the August 16 meeting and will finish out the term until December 31.
This entire process is something the city council went through not long ago. Last October, members appointed Linwood Branch on the heels of then-Vice Mayor Jim Wood’s resignation. And back in August of 2021, Councilman Rocky Holcomb was appointed by the council to fill the seat vacated by Jessica Abbott, who resigned for health reasons.