Last night, the Virginia Beach City Council selected Guy Tower to fill the vacant Beach District previously held by David Nygaard and shortlisted Michael Berlucchi and Seko B. E. Varner as finalists to fill the Rose Hall district vacancy.
Virginia Beach residents may review the applications submitted (click on name to review) by Berlucchi and Varner to fill the Rose Hall seat. Berlucchi is currently the Community Engagement Manager at the Chrysler Museum of Art and past President of Hampton Roads Pride. Varner is currently the One Stop Operator Coordinator at Tidewater Community College and recently for an At-Large position on the Virginia Beach School Board.
Starting on April 30, citizens of Virginia Beach will have the opportunity to provide feedback about the applications to the City Council during its regularly scheduled business meeting. Following the public feedback period, on May 7, the Virginia Beach City Council will interview the selected candidates and make a final decision. State code authorizes the City Council to fill the vacancy until a special election is scheduled, which will be the first Tuesday in November.
Tower replaced David Nygaard, Virginia Beach’s first openly gay Councilman after a court ordered him to vacate his seat after a trial determined he no longer lived in the Beach district. Tower took the oath of office last night and joined in the deliberation about the applicants for the Rose Hall District vacancy. Tower has been a Virginia Beach resident since 1979 and has lived in the Beach District since 2014. He is a retired lawyer, mediator, educator and association executive and will serve until a special election is held in November. Earlier this month, Nygaard announced he would not be running in a special election to reclaim his seat on the Council.
