Ed. — Archived from the Sunday, Sept. 8, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — Richard “R.K.” Kowalewitch, an Oceanfront businessperson running for mayor, has challenged the eligibility of two rival candidates — incumbent Mayor Bobby Dyer and City Councilmember Sabrina Wooten of District 7 — and turned to the Virginia Supreme Court.
Dyer seeks reelection, and Wooten’s council term is set to expire at the end of this year, but Kowalewitch and another city resident, Donald Edwards, are arguing in a petition that Virginia Beach’s charter still requires resignations from their current offices to run for mayor prior to a June filing deadline for candidates.
Under the language cited from the charter, any member of the council — including the mayor — who wants to be mayor must resign by letter from the council effective at the end of the year — and that resignation must be tendered 10 days before petitions are due to make the ballot.
“These resignations did not occur which makes these persons’ appearance on the ballot unlawful and a violation of the rights of all registered voters in the city of Virginia Beach, which includes the other candidates for mayor who do lawfully qualify,” the petition states.
Joining Dyer, Kowalewitch and Wooten in this year’s race to be mayor are former Councilmember John Moss and Councilmember Chris Taylor, who resigned his District 8 council seat effective at the end of this year to run for mayor. Taylor filed a letter of resignation before the filing deadline. He is running for mayor in the middle of a council term.
Kowalewitch on Thursday, Sept. 5, said Dyer and Wooten should have done the same thing, and election officials must ensure only eligible candidates are on the ballot.
The petition filed by Kowalewitch and Edwards asks the court to order elections officials to remove Dyer and Wooten from the ballot and prohibit officials from “any further deviations” from the law.
“I want them to rule they have to follow the law,” Kowalewitch said during an interview.
“This is, I believe, another frivolous lawsuit by an individual who is known for frivolous lawsuits,” Dyer said.
Wooten on Tuesday, Aug. 27, submitted a letter to the city clerk noting her resignation effective Dec. 31 and mentioning that her current term expires that day. The letter was submitted after the candidate filing date.
Christine Lewis, the director of voter registration and elections in Virginia Beach, declined to comment.
Kowalewitch provided The Independent News with a copy of the filing, which the court received on Tuesday, Sept. 3, according to an online record. The petition names Virginia Beach elections officials as respondents because they “failed to disqualify” Dyer and Wooten, but the candidates are not themselves named as parties.
Kowalewitch and Edwards also filed a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the 10-district local voting system in Virginia Beach, though a judge dismissed the lawsuit and an appeals court panel in late July declined to overturn the decision. On Tuesday, Aug. 27, the federal appeals court declined to rehear the matter.
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