Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea announced Wednesday he will not seek reelection in 2024, bringing to a close two decades on the Roanoke City Council and a quarter-century of public service in the city.
“This journey has been one of profound honor, with each election — an affirmation of our shared vision for Roanoke,” Lea said in a statement. “As I reflect on a career marked by the unwavering trust and support of the community I have served, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of our City’s successes.”
The Democratic mayor’s announcement was not unexpected. He’s 71 and his wife, Clara, died in 2021. He’d publicly hinted that he was undecided about seeking a third term as mayor. In anticipation of Lea stepping aside, there’s been speculation about at least three possible candidates for the mayor’s job: Vice Mayor Joe Cobb, a Democrat; council member Stephanie Moon-Reynolds, who was elected as an independent; and former Mayor David Bowers, who announced in September that he has left the Democratic Party and now identifies as a Republican.
The 2024 mayor’s race will coincide with the presidential election in November. That means the final date to get listed on the ballot will be sometime in June.
Lea, who is Roanoke’s second Black mayor, grew up in Pittsylvania County and attended Virginia Union University, where he was an offensive lineman on the football team that won the school’s first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 50 years. Lea has long been a sports enthusiast, officiating both high school and college games and sponsoring a basketball league that bears his name. In 2017, Lea was named a Legend of the CIAA.
Professionally, Lea worked for the Department of Corrections and became the first Black chief probation and parole officer in Virginia. He was appointed to the Roanoke School Board, where he served five years. In 2004, he was elected to the Roanoke City Council and was reelected in 2008 and 2012. In 2016, when Bowers retired as mayor, Lea was elected to the first of two terms as mayor.
Throughout his time on the council, Lea was known as a consensus-builder. A 2018 story in The Roanoker magazine by former Roanoke Times city hall reporter Mason Adams called Lea “a quiet leader. He listens. And when he delivers his opinion, other people listen.”
That story quoted then-council member Michelle Davis: “I’d call him a quiet giant in the room. He doesn’t have to be the loudest voice. He doesn’t have to be the one who is recognized or the one who is given credit. He creates a sense of calm that has been beneficial to how this council operates and works through complex issues. Sherman commands respect because you don’t ever feel like he’s in it just for himself.”
Lea’s two decades on the Roanoke City Council have spanned a period of sometimes traumatic change for Roanoke. Early in his tenure, Roanoke was roiled by a debate over whether to renovate or tear down the aging Victory Stadium. Lea supported keeping the stadium, which was eventually demolished. Now that part of the city is home to the Virginia Tech-Carilion School of Medicine and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute across the street. The release announcing Lea’s decision not to seek reelection included a long list of developments in the city during his tenure, including the redevelopment of the two high schools, the redevelopment of four library branches, the new bus station and the return of Amtrak to the city.
“I want to assure the residents of Roanoke that, although I have decided not to seek reelection, my commitment and dedication to serving you remains steadfast until the conclusion of my term on December 31, 2024,” Lea said in his statement.