Republican David Bowers clings to a 19-vote lead over Democrat Joe Cobb in the Roanoke mayoral race, but an unknown number of provisional ballots in Roanoke are yet to be counted.
In the council race, Democrat Terry McGuire led the balloting, followed by Democrat Phazhon Nash and Republican Nick Hagen, who will become the first Republican elected to council since 2000.
It’s unclear at this time how many provisional ballots need to be accounted for in Roanoke, but Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, said it could be as many as 1,000. “Each precinct had dozens,” he said.
By receiving the most votes in the council race, McGuire will be the next vice mayor of Roanoke. He is a teacher and a Clean Air Act federal policy advocate.
“I’m very, very honored and very grateful for all the people that put their trust in me and are giving me the chance to serve and represent them on city council,” he said.
Independent Evelyn Powers, Democrat Ben Woods, Republican Jim Garrett and independent Cathy Reynolds did not win seats on council. Powers was the closest of the four to obtain a seat.
Bowers has spoken strongly against the zoning ordinance that was amended in April doing away with exclusionary zoning in the city and has stated multiple times he would work to repeal the changes. He said crime is Roanoke’s most pressing issue, supporting gun violence “apprehension” rather than “prevention.” He’s for a 3-cent real estate tax reduction and wants to focus on filling vacancies in the Roanoke Police Department.
Cobb is in his sixth year serving Roanoke City Council and his second term as vice mayor. He’s lived in Roanoke since 2001, coming from Kansas. He serves on a number of boards in the city, including the Council of Community Services Board of Directors, the Greater Roanoke Transit Committee Board, the City of Roanoke Audit Committee and a number of city council committees.
Hagen’s win, and the potential Republican mayoral win, halt a long history of Democratic wins in Roanoke City Council — the last time a Republican sat on council was in 2001 when Ralph Smith was elected mayor along with a Republican sitting on council. Smith served until 2004.
“We did something that hasn’t been done in a generation! I am so grateful to the people of Roanoke for putting their faith and trust in me. I look forward to representing everyone and hearing from everyone,” Hagen, an attorney, said via text early Wednesday morning.
Nash, a longtime Roanoke resident, is an operations consultant at Carilion Clinic. Nash was the youngest candidate on the ballot, and the youngest to serve on council in Roanoke’s recent history at 25 years old.
“People are tired of the way things have been, and they’re really ready for a new change in leadership with what I campaigned on, a new generation of leadership,” he said at the polls on Tuesday.
Zoning changes, housing affordability and scarcity, real estate taxes, and commercial development have been on the minds of Roanoke’s voters in this year’s election.
Cobb voted in favor of the controversial zoning changes from March that eliminated exclusionary housing in the city. He’s said he’s supportive of keeping the real estate tax stable for now and would strive for a heightened innovation economy and regional tourism. He supports sustaining comprehensive gun violence prevention, innovation and response efforts, and youth programming.
McGuire has spoken against the zoning changes and is for conserving wetlands while having smart economic development.
Nash also spoke against the zoning changes. He said he hopes to rebuild the council’s relationship with the community.
Hagen has been very vocal in wanting more transparency from the city to Roanoke’s residents and is in strong opposition to the zoning changes.
