The Danville City Council will have a new face next year for the first time since 2020, after council member Madison Whittle was elected this week to represent the 49th District in the House of Delegates.
There are three years left on Whittle’s city council term — he was reelected to the council in November 2024 for a four-year term. A candidate appointed by the existing city council will fill his seat until a special election can be held.
Whittle will succeed Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, who has represented the district for nearly 25 years and announced his retirement in February.
Both Whittle and his opponent in the House race, Gary Miller, are longtime members of the Danville City Council. Regardless of who won the election, the city was prepared to have a vacancy on the council come January.
Several residents, including Marshall, have already expressed interest in filling Whittle’s seat, reported the Danville Register & Bee. Shakeva Frazier, the first runner-up in the most recent city council election, and Buddy Rawley, a former city council member, have also expressed interest in interviews with the Register & Bee.
City Attorney Clarke Whitfield spoke at a July city council meeting about the process for filling an upcoming vacancy.
Whittle will transition from his role with the city council, on which he has served since 2016, to his role in the General Assembly in January.
The position must be filled within 45 days of the vacancy, Whitfield said.
Once the seat is vacant, the city will advertise the position and accept applications from interested residents. The existing city council will select finalists from that pool and will conduct interviews at public meetings.
“At least seven days prior to making the appointment, council must hold an open public meeting at which all finalists for the appointment are publicly disclosed and any finalist resumes are made publicly available,” according to the city website.
Frazier, as runner-up, will automatically be considered as a finalist, Whitfield said.
The council will make a final decision by majority vote, also in a public meeting.
“The appointed council member will serve until someone was duly elected and qualified, whether that be through a special election or general election,” according to the minutes from the July 15 council meeting.
That special election could be in November 2026, but the city hasn’t officially decided on that, said City Manager Ken Larking.
Whoever wins that election will fill the remaining two years of Whittle’s term, which ends in 2028.
Danville City Council members serve four-year terms with staggered elections.
Each of the incumbents was reelected in 2022 and 2024, making Barry Mayo and Bryant Hood, who were both elected in 2020, the most recent additions to council.
