Light rail dominates Virginia Beach election

VIRGINIA BEACH

The winners in next week's elections will be part of a City Council that will decide the biggest issue facing the Beach: Should the city extend light rail from Norfolk to the Oceanfront?

The new council will also contend with a tight budget, a rocky relationship with the School Board, and the fate of planned public-private partnerships such as the convention center hotel and development of the former Dome site.

Six of the 11 council seats are open and all incumbents except one have challengers. In Virginia Beach, residents vote in all races.

The at-large and Princess Anne district contests have shaped up to be the most competitive.

Two seats are up for grabs in the at-large race. Incumbents Bill DeSteph and Rita Sweet Bellitto are trying to stand out in a field of seven candidates, including Dave Redmond, a commercial real estate officer backed by Mayor Will Sessoms.

Also running are James Cabiness, a political newcomer and a Norfolk State University academic advisor; Wally Erb, who led the failed effort to get a light-rail referendum on the November ballot; Andrew Jackson, a retired Navy radioman and community volunteer; and John Moss, a former councilman and leader in the Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance.

DeSteph, a retired Navy intelligence officer, said he wants to reduce city spending and create jobs in Virginia Beach.

He has struggled to build coalitions with other council members during his first term in office, and now some of his colleagues are backing Redmond.

Redmond, a sales associate for Divaris Real Estate Inc., last week received $10,000 from Sessoms and $7,500 from Councilman John Uhrin. Shortly after those contributions, Redmond unveiled a Web site and TV ads that attack DeSteph for wearing a sexually provocative genie costume to a Halloween fundraiser two years ago.

DeSteph has said the ad raised an old issue and he prefers to focus on current and future voter concerns.

Redmond said he supports development plans for the Dome site and Convention Center hotel. On light rail, he wants to wait until a feasibility study by Hampton Roads Transit is complete next year before taking a stance.

Bellitto, a former city engineer the City Council appointed earlier this year to complete the term of Ron Villanueva, shares that position.

DeSteph said he wants voters to decide in a referendum on light rail.

In the Princess Anne district race, incumbent Barbara Henley, who was first elected to City Council in 1978, burnishes her credentials as an advocate for Virginia Beach's agricultural community.

"If we don't preserve our agricultural industry, we're going to be depending on other countries for our food," Henley, who runs a farm, said at a candidate forum Monday. "And that's going to be a lot worse than depending on them for oil."

Henley faces attorney Tanya Bullock, who is making her first run for public office. Bullock is backed by local and state Republican leaders and said that the council needs a "fresh set of eyes."

"I don't claim to be an expert on everything," Bullock responded at the forum. "And that's a good thing, because guess who I'll listen to? You."

Both are supportive of light rail.

In the Bayside District race, incumbent and Vice Mayor Louis Jones faces George Furman III. Jones, who was first elected in 1982 and has worked on projects such as the Lake Gaston pipeline and preservation of the Stumpy Lake property, stresses his experience.

Jones backs a light-rail referendum.

Furman is a security guard and is making his first run for public office. He said that if elected he'd work to expand bus service, raise teacher pay and address neighborhood flooding issues. He said he'd support light rail only if the bus system is expanded.

In the Lynnhaven district, incumbent Jim Wood is up against Toni Hedrick.

Hedrick, who is backed by the Hampton Roads Tea Party chapter, has aligned herself with DeSteph and Moss. She said the city can't afford light rail at this time.

Wood, former chairman of Hampton Roads Transit, supports light rail, but "not at any cost." He said he'll make a decision on extending the line after the study is completed.

Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com