Ed. — The following are responses to questions posed by The Independent News to candidates in the special election for the District 1 seat on the Virginia Beach City Council. Answers to our questions in this series generally are not edited, aside from obvious punctuation issues, spacing and formatting, or for clarity. The print edition containing our full voter guide is now on stands through this coming weekend.
- News coverage about races in Virginia Beach is at this link.
- News coverage about voting system changes is at this link.
- Please reach John Doucette, the editor, with any questions or concerns via email.
- Find the main page for the complete 2022 voter guide at this link.
N.D. ”ROCKY” HOLCOMB
- Residence: Kempsville/Larkspur
- Age: 54
- Occupation: Chief Deputy Sheriff Virginia Beach, 31 years
- Military Service/Education: United States Marine Corps 0311, Regent University B.S., West Point Leadership Course
- Endorsements: Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer, Virginia Beach Professional Firefighters and Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association
- Website: rockyholcomb.org
- Phone: (757) 381-3038
- Email: rocky@rockyholcomb.org
- Social Media: @councilmanrockyholcomb on Facebook
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I’ve served my nation, my state and my city throughout my career and I am passionate about serving as a City Council member in the city I love. I served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps (three years of active service and five years as an inactive reservist). I then joined the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office, where I serve today as Chief Deputy. I served as commander of the Emergency Response Team and championed efforts to improve mental health treatment for inmates, including by creating the Mental Health Housing Unit and a gardening therapy program, Operation Green Thumb.
In 2017, I was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, becoming the first ever full-time law enforcement officer to serve. I successfully championed bills to improve mental health treatment for jail inmates [HB2184], arming School Security officers [HB1392], and increasing access and insurance coverage of contraception [HB2267]. I joined City Council to serve the unexpired term of Councilwoman Jessica Abbott, and believe my experience and character have molded me into a servant leader and I humbly ask for the support of voters to continue this effort.
What is the most important issue facing the city and how will you address it in office? Our top priority is the interconnectivity of economic growth and safety. One will never fully exist without the success of the other. Virginia Beach cannot rest until all of Virginia Beach shares in job growth and economic development and lives in a neighborhood where they feel safe. Our most recent budget implemented a long sought-after improved pay plan for public safety and city employees as well as significant investments in economic development to foster job growth for Virginia Beach residents.
What are your three main policy priorities?
- Low Taxes and Fees: With inflation high and consumer sentiment at an all-time low, we need to be focused on keeping Virginia Beach affordable and resist additional taxes and fees.
- More Jobs and Better Salaries: With cost of living rising, we all know more high-paying jobs are needed. I support economic development focused on attracting new and growing companies to Virginia Beach. I voted to bring high-speed internet and broadband cables onshore to Virginia Beach, and to fund infrastructure improvements for traffic relief, flood mitigation and economic progress.
- Safe Neighborhoods: As an experienced law enforcement officer, I know the value of keeping our neighborhoods safe. Virginia Beach is again the safest city our size in America, thanks to our great Police Chief and our heroes on patrol. We’ve funded new technologies to help law enforcement respond quickly and took action to recruit and retain the best.
Should city services such as water and sewer be extended south of Indian River Road to promote development of rural communities? I do not support such an extension and am a supporter of the Green Line. We need to protect the agricultural character of rural Virginia Beach and we will regret it if we ever deviate from that tradition.
Do you support the agricultural reserve program, or ARP? Should its dedicated funding be maintained at a consistent level? I believe in and support the ARP and support keeping the commitments made to avoid development in the ARP area. We should fund the program so it can accomplish its designed goals.
Do you believe nonfarming businesses should be allowed on agriculturally zoned land in the rural area of the city? While I like to say I keep an open mind when I haven’t seen specific proposals, I would say that I would be opposed to rezoning agricultural land in rural areas or changing what is allowable on such property.
Do you support the city’s successful appeal of Holloway v. Virginia Beach voting rights case, which may mean the 10-district system under which you are running may change? I respect the court’s decision and am running in District 1. In the end, the voters will tell us if they like this system or want something different. I will serve the people in my district and engage them in discussions about this and all other issues. Having served in the House of Delegates, I am used to district elections and am moving forward.
It is likely the new City Council will need to reconsider our local voting system following the Holloway v. Virginia Beach reversal in the appeals court. How should the council do this while engaging citizens? I think you have that backwards. We should engage citizens and only take action if there is overwhelming consensus by the voters to move in a different direction in terms of the local voting system. As stated above, I’m serving under the system we have and will continue to talk to constituents about their thoughts, concerns and wishes. Regardless, we can’t let districts become islands. We must all work together for the whole city.
How should the city address concerns about sea level rise and recurrent flooding aside from projects funded via last year’s referendum? We know that the overall cost of flood mitigation is much higher than what is funded in the bond referendum. The bonds cover $567 million in projects and the projected total cost of flood mitigation is well over $3 billion. The bond referendum was a game changer and accelerates a great deal of planned projects. Priority one is to make sure the bond money is spent efficiently, and then prepare for the next steps to mitigate recurring flooding.
Has the city done enough to help the restaurant and hospitality industry recover from shutdowns related to the pandemic? I think the city helped restaurants with the flexibility to expand to outdoor seating and suspending restaurant taxes during the height of the pandemic. A major impact to restaurants was a lack of employees due to restrictions and enhanced unemployment that paid people more to stay home than they would make working. Thankfully, it appears the worst of COVID is behind us and we can look forward to brighter growth in the future.
MELISSA A. SAARIJARVI PECK
- Residence: Salem Woods
- Age: 43
- Occupation: Trained Librarian/Graduate Student
- Military Service/Education: Bachelor Degree in Political Science (2004), Master Degree in Library & Information Sciences (2022)
- Endorsements: State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler and Virginia Beach School Board Member Jessica Owens
- Website: melissapeck4vb.com
- Phone: (360) 471-6695
- Email: melissa@melissapeck4vb.com
- Social Media: @melissapeck4vb on Facebook
What are your specific qualifications for this office? The military originally brought my family to Virginia Beach 15 years ago and I have been an active community volunteer and advocate ever since. As a parent of 4 school-aged children, I have a vested interest in ensuring this city is a place younger generations wish to remain.
Additionally, my educational and professional background has prepared me for public service. As a member of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibilities Round Table, I am part of a group dedicated to making not only this professional organization more democratic, but the entire field of librarianship as well. Librarians rely upon a code of shared ethics and values to help inform their decisions and work tirelessly not only for the common good of their community but to also bolster democracy. I mention all of this as it helps explain the mindset under which I operate in my daily life; I wish to see ethical, information-based decision-making take place and those decisions should be made to serve a common good that can benefit all impacted.
What is the most important issue facing the city and how will you address it in office? The all-encompassing concern of livability is the most important issue facing Virginia Beach. Our city needs to be a place that our teachers, city employees, and first responders can afford to live, our neighborhoods must be safe for residents, we need jobs that pay well, an environment that draws in new businesses, and existing neighborhoods should not face recurrent flooding.
What are your three main policy priorities?
- It is essential that we focus on expanding and diversifying our local business economy. We can take steps to reduce red tape and make it easier for new businesses to thrive.
- Our city must continue to take immediate action to address recurrent flooding in our neighborhoods. We cannot afford to wait 10 years or more for impactful projects to see completion as we are already seeing the effects of sea level rise.
- Our schools and education system must remain a top priority. We continue to see teacher and staff shortages. We must figure out a way to retain quality teachers and staff while also attracting new personnel. This plus ensuring safe, quality facilities in which to learn must be addressed.
Should city services such as water and sewer be extended south of Indian River Road to promote development of rural communities? We may want to extend these city services for existing residents. However, no services should be extended with the intention of promoting development below the green line.
Do you support the agricultural reserve program, or ARP? Should its dedicated funding be maintained at a consistent level? I support the Agricultural Reserve Program. At this time, the funding for this program should remain consistent. This program is vital to protect our rural, agriculture-based portion of the city.
Do you believe nonfarming businesses should be allowed on agriculturally zoned land in the rural area of the city? No. My primary concern is that we would see large corporations take advantage of this opportunity and not necessarily locally owned, small businesses.
Do you support the city’s successful appeal of Holloway v. Virginia Beach voting rights case, which may mean the 10-district system under which you are running may change? No, I do not support the city’s appeal of the Holloway v. Virginia Beach voting rights case. Real estate developers have long been the primary supporters of our city’s former at-large voting system. The at-large voting system allows them and other monied interests to influence every member on council through campaign contributions. The new 10 district voting system allows regular, conflict-free residents such as myself to run for City Council because we no longer need tens of thousands (and sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars to reach all of the voters in one district.
It is likely the new City Council will need to reconsider our local voting system following the Holloway v. Virginia Beach reversal in the appeals court. How should the council do this while engaging citizens? The 10-district model allows for direct, manageable representation and engagement with the citizens in our district. If the 10-district model is not desired by the citizens, we can discover this by hosting town halls and encouraging direct communication in each district.
How should the city address concerns about sea level rise and recurrent flooding aside from projects funded via last year’s referendum? First, we have to ensure that projects are not simply funded but are actually completed. In addition to large projects, the city can lead education efforts and workshops to promote practical residential and business projects that can help combat local recurrent flooding.
Simple projects such as rain barrels, planting native trees and plants, and using pervious surfaces when completing construction projects can all help reduce stormwater run-off.
Has the city done enough to help the restaurant and hospitality industry recover from shutdowns related to the pandemic? The 2022 tourist season showed improvement over 2021.
A number of factors played into this, some outside the hands of City Council. Signing bonuses have been partially credited as helping businesses hire the new employees needed to remain open and running at acceptable standards.
Our Council has taken creative steps including the Fund Your Fire grant program to assist specifically with hiring bonuses. I cannot help but think that better, reliable public transportation would enable teens and young adults from other parts of the city to travel across town to fill more of these entry level positions at the Oceanfront.
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