VIRGINIA BEACH — Two candidates have stepped forward to run for City Council in the newly created District 2. They are Elaine Fekete, a realtor from Sandbridge, and Matthias Paul Telkamp, a technology consultant who lives in Indian River Woods.
Fekete, the vice president of the Sandbridge Beach Civic League, has never sought public office before. Telkamp ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for an at-large seat on the School Board.
It is not yet certain, however, whether they will face City Councilmember Barbara Henley, a Pungo farmer and former teacher who was elected to represent the Princess Anne District and resides within the new District 2.
Henley, who first joined the council in 1978, has not said whether she will run for office again this year. Speaking prior to the City Council retreat held this past week, she said, “I want to see how things go with the retreat and the budget, and I’ll be able to make a decision.”
District 2 is one of the 10 newly created local districts a federal judge ordered into effect in December. District 2 includes much of the main coverage are of The Independent News, and it has similarities to the Princess Anne District in that it includes rural communities in the southern city and the residential resort community of Sandbridge.
Fekete said she is excited to seek office in the district after being involved in the community and issues that have come before the City Council, such as short-term rentals. It’s a large and diverse district, she said.
“It’s the rural and the farming community,” she said during a recent interview. “It’s the residential resort community. And the district also has the most residential development in the city. …
“I think there’s a lack of representation on council,” Fekete added. “I don’t mean Barbara. I mean a lack of people on council listening to the citizens.”
She saw this disconnect during the long saga of addressing short-term rentals in Sandbridge over the years, as well as other issues in that community.
“We feel we don’t have a voice at the table on City Council that is supporting what Sandbridge wants and needs,” Fekete said.
Fekete said she is looking forward to meeting with different communities within the district, and she said concerns in rural areas will be key. “It’s definitely important for anybody who wants to represent this district to have a working knowledge of the rural area,” Fekete said.
Fekete grew up on a family farm that eventually was sold to developers, and she said that is why she understands the value of programs such as the agricultural reserve program, or ARP, which preserves farmland in the city and helps local farmers.
Fekete grew up in Southampton County, and her father was a farmer. She studied clothing and textiles marketing at Virginia Tech, later beginning a business career in New York before moving to Sandbridge in 1995.
Fekete said she has always been interested in local government, but it was the short-term rental issue that got her involved. “I never thought that would be me,” she said of seeking office, “but it really is a passion of mine.”
Priorities as a member of the council will be ensuring that body listens to the people and is more fiscally responsible while adapting to the needs of citizens who have been through challenging times.
She said the recent bond referendum to fund flood mitigation projects did not do enough to address concerns in the southern watershed, and she would work to ensure projects that were not funded go forward with support.
Telkamp said he hopes to bring his business and technology background to his council service.
Telkamp is a native of Texas who came to Chesapeake in 2009 before moving to Virginia Beach in 2013, initially living in Windsor Woods. He said the southern city has the benefits of a small town area and the amenities of a bigger city, and much of the city’s diverse features are seen in the district.
Telkamp said he is still passionate about education, but he had been thinking about running for council for a while. The change to the new district system – and the end of at-large seats – made the choice of which council seat to seek for him.
There are a number of issues he would like to address, including addressing capital improvement projects. He, too, said he supports the agricultural reserve program and hopes to do more to address flooding concerns in the southern city.
“The southern portion of the city has the unique wind-based flooding where you have water pushed into Back Bay, going through the channels and into people’s yards,” he said.
And he said there might have been more focus on the southern city in the flood mitigation referendum, and the City Council should have acted on flooding projects even without a referendum.
“City Council just should have made a choice to do it,” he said. “I feel it was a gutless decision to put it in front of the voters when they should have just done it.”
Regarding Henley, he said he has agreed with some of her votes and disagreed with others.
“I think it’s time to pass the torch,” he said.
© 2020 Pungo Publishing Co., LLC
