Much attention has been focused on the national elections, but Roanoke City had local contests on Nov. 5 also. Those used to be in May, but a few years ago Roanoke Democrats changed the time to coincide with national Election Day.
A main argument for moving local voting to the same day as high-profile presidential elections is that it would boost enthusiasm and voter participation. However, a main argument against was that national issues would overshadow local ones and higher turnout would likely make it easier for Democrats to keep long-term control of City Hall.
On Nov. 5, City voters, in addition for voting for president, Senate, and Congress like all other Virginians, could also vote for mayor and three members of City Council.
According to the Virginia Board of Elections website, as of 2:18 p.m. Nov. 6, David Bowers who is now a Republican holds a narrow lead of 19 votes. Bowers won 37.25%, or 14,821. His strongest areas of support were Preston Park, East Gate, Hollins Road, Southeast, and Garden City.
In contrast, Vice Mayor Joe Cobb won 37.22%, or 14,810. His base was strongest in Highland and Wasena.
Stephanie Moon Reynolds, a former Democrat who ran an an independent, earned 9,966, or 25.05%. Her strongest support was in Lincoln Terrace and Eureka Park.
(In another close race locally, in a June 2024 GOP primary to represent the Vinton District on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, Tammy Shepherd eked out a victory over School Board member Tim Greenway by a mere 17 votes.)
The 0.03% margin currently separating Bowers and Cobb should silence the perennial “my vote doesn’t count” crowd.
Bowers held a street-side press conference on Nov. 6 at 11:00 by the Municipal Building explaining his current wafer-thin lead. Because of voter laws that the Democrats changed when they held the General Assembly and Governor’s Mansion in 2020, people can register to vote on Election Day and cast what is called a “provisional ballot.”
Those ballots are counted, but are not scanned into voting machines like most ballots. Instead, they are held separately and the Electoral Board examines each the next day to make sure the voter is legal to vote in Virginia. For ballots that are found to be legitimate, they are added to the totals.
Moreover, mail-in ballots are still being received and tabulated. Thus it may be a few days until a final winner is known.
Bowers stated he has engaged legal council and will not make further statements about the vote tally issue at this time.
Showing his willingness to work with others, Bowers told those gathered at the conference: “I don’t get to decide who’s going to sit on that Council, but I do get to decide how I’m going to work with them. I want to go back to the Elizabethan Rule I learned 40 years ago: the election is over, it’s time to govern.”
Serwan Zangana with The Roanoke Star asked Bowers at the press conference: “I’ve heard from people who have complained about the recent City Council members who didn’t give enough time to speak in public meetings. Do you have a comment on that?”
Bowers responded that he too has heard such complaints recently but that “I [Bowers] never heard of that [complaints] when I was mayor. We always made sure to give the little courtesy of a little extra time. After all, City Council should not decide issues in a vacuum. We should listen to and consider what our people said.”
Addressing the election overall, Bowers said “the number one issue facing Roanokers is this new rezoning scheme, which is the worst decision by Roanoke City Council in fifty years. The people want this new scheme scrapped, and they want to go back to the Rule of Law that we had for fifty years.” Bowers added that many Roanokers are upset about the previous 40% schooling funding formula that Council nixed, and poor public safety.
Bowers: “I’m astounded, having been living in this City for so long, the number of times I heard over the last six months of the campaign, of the fear, of the people of Roanoke who are afraid to come Downtown; to go out into their back yard to the alley at night; to walk their dog around the block; or to go down to the Greenways. So, I think that’s an important issue.”
GOP wins first seat on City Council since 2000
Despite the mayoral race being currently in limbo, Roanoke Republicans scored their first victory in a generation when Nick Hagen won a seat on Council, the first GOP win in the Star City since 2000.
Democrat Terry McGuire led the balloting, followed by Democrat Phazhon Nash, and Hagen came in third; all four earned a four-year term.
Hagen greeted voters faithfully at early voting downtown and made an issue of the mass rezoning, of which he explained the dangers in this commentary.
Reflecting on the win, Roanoke City GOP Chairman Charlie Nave, quoted on WFIR, stated: “a lot of voters are tired of being unheard.”
–Serwan Zangana and Scott Dreyer contributed to this story