V. LEIGH HENDERSON
Residence: Pungo
Age: 43
Occupation: Virginia Beach City Treasurer
Education/Military Service: 2 Bachelor’s Degrees (Finance and Accounting)
Endorsements: Delegate Barry Knight, Senator Bill DeSteph and Delegate Glenn Davis
Website: www.voteleighhendersonvb.com
Phone: (757) 621-2523
Email: voteleighhenderson@gmail.com
Social Media: @voteleighhenderson on Facebook
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I have worked in the City Treasurer’s Office for 21 years, beginning as an entry level accountant. I have held the positions of Accounting & Investments Administrator and Chief Deputy allowing me to learn all aspects of operations.
I became Treasurer in January 2019 upon the retirement of the previous Treasurer and won a special election in November 2019. I have knowledge and experience in every aspect of the office and have been a part of every technology project. I oversee more than $2 billion a year in revenue and manage an investment portfolio that reached $1 billion at the end of June 2021.
I serve on the Board of Directors for the Treasurers’ Association of Virginia and the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Investment Pool (VIP), which is an investment vehicle where local governments jointly invest to prudently achieve higher earnings on operating and reserve funds.
I am also a Certified Treasury Professional from the Association for Financial Professionals and a Master Governmental Treasurer from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. I have established working relationships with other City departments and members of Council to maintain operations and make continuous process improvements.
Please describe your experience in the areas of finance and/or revenue collection. In 2000, I graduated from ODU with two bachelor degrees, one in Accounting and one in Finance. Over a period of 4 years I took the required classes to obtain my Master Governmental Deputy Treasurer designation from UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Shortly after becoming Treasurer, I took additional classes to become a Master Governmental Treasurer. I am a Certified Treasury Professional, as designated by the Association for Financial Professionals. This education focuses on the specific aspects of the Treasurer’s position to include banking, cash management, investment management, governmental accounting, technology, internal controls, and collections. For 20+ years I have either done the job or have become knowledgeable in all aspects of the Treasurer’s Office operations.
Please describe your management experience. For over seven years, I was the Accounting and Investment Administrator with approximately 20 employees reporting to me. For two years, I was the Chief Deputy Treasurer responsible for approximately 75 employees and all operations of the office. With my work on all of the technology projects, I have managed and coordinated activities with multiple stakeholders, both within the City Treasurer’s Office and partnering departments/vendors. I believe in leading by example. I believe in learning operations from the ground up. I believe in serving the citizens of Virginia Beach and have spent more than 20 years dedicating myself to this mission. As Treasurer, I try to impart this philosophy to my employees.
How will you work with individuals and small businesses to help them navigate the ongoing financial challenges related to the novel coronavirus? In March 2020, I created a unique payment plan and notified City Council prior to any of their actions in this area. This plan, after signing the agreement, allowed businesses to defer all payments without penalty until the conclusion of the state of emergency and then we would determine the terms of the payment schedule.
I also worked with City Council on the adoption of ordinances to assist citizens and businesses during these difficult times. I worked with Public Utilities and Human Services with their programs to assist citizens who qualified. It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to collect taxes, but with open lines of communication, I will continue to work with citizens and businesses on any delinquencies. It is my goal to help business stay open and citizens to continue to be able to provide for their families while still following all City and State regulations and laws.
How will you coordinate with city officials to ensure proper function of your office? In my 20+ years in the Treasurer’s Office, I have built strong relationships with all of the departments in which the office conducts business. Many other City departments utilize the services of the Treasurer for billing & collection.
I will also continue to work with City Council for issues pertinent to the office. Coordination with the Real Estate Assessor, Commissioner of the Revenue, IT Department and Finance will remain a priority to assure the proper billing, collection and reporting of tax revenues.
LAURA WOOD HABR
Residence: Lynnhaven Shores
Age: 51
Occupation: Civic leader and candidate to be the next City Treasurer of Virginia Beach
Education/Military Service: Associate Degree
Key endorsements: The Hon. Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, former Virginia Beach City Councilwoman, Founder & Chairwoman of the Virginia African American Cultural Center, Inc.; The Honorable Molly Ward, City Treasurer, Hampton Virginia; The Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association
Website: www.VoteLauraWoodHabr.com
Phone: (757) 639-6335
Email: info@VoteLauraWoodHabr.com
Social Media: @LauraWoodHabr on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? The Treasurer for our state’s largest city should be a big-picture leader who understands how the position can be a positive rather than a detriment to the city of Virginia Beach and its citizens. Doing business in Virginia Beach should be straight-forward and predictable, and I pledge we will have a Treasurer’s office that removes roadblocks, helps all citizens, and is a faithful steward of the cash and assets of this great city.
For more than twenty-five years, I co-owned Croc’s restaurant on 19th Street. I started Virginia Beach Restaurant Week, the first in the state, to increase business in a slow time of year, and other cities quickly followed.
My first political foray was designed to protect restaurant staff and customers through a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants, and I was very proud to have the Governor come to Croc’s to sign the bill. Next was the fight against offshore drilling and it too was a David versus Goliath battle. After winning that, our team began pushing for offshore wind turbines, a project that is garnering worldwide attention. In 2019, the Virginia Beach Jaycees honored me as First Citizen of Virginia Beach, and in 2021, I was also honored with the Human Rights Award from the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission.
If you elect me, I promise to work for and with Virginia Beach taxpayers to guarantee their experience is fast and fair, while being the best steward for the city’s financial assets.
Please describe your experience in the areas of finance and/or revenue collection. If an accounting degree is required to levy tax liens during the darkest days of the pandemic, then maybe that isn’t the best qualification for this job. You cannot own and operate a small business for 25 years without having fluency in financial matters. And, because I have been a small business owner (and not a career government employee), I do not have experience in revenue collection, but wisely managing cash is critical to being a successful business owner. It should be noted that the previous Treasurer held the position for 43 years and was not an Accountant, and most of the other Treasurer’s in the Commonwealth of Virginia do not hold accounting degrees either. What is most important in this position is the commitment and experience of being a servant leader, and an effective, faithful steward of cash and financial assets.
Please describe your management experience. The job of City Treasurer requires effective leadership and being a tireless advocate for taxpayers. I know what it takes to inspire team members, and to develop, lead and operate successful organizations. I have co-owned and successfully operated an independent restaurant in Virginia Beach for more than a quarter century, and to encourage and support the development of other independent businesses, I established the first non-profit farm market (Old Beach Farmers Market) in our region. I helped champion the campaign to Buy Fresh, Buy Local and was honored as a Friend of the Virginia Beach Agriculture Dept. Finally, in 2015, I became a founder of the ViBe Creative District, a non-profit 501C-3 and I founded the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast. It has membership, volunteers, supporters and a governing board encompassing all 14 states along the Atlantic seaboard.
How will you work with individuals and small businesses to help them navigate the ongoing financial challenges related to the novel coronavirus? I have been hosting round tables and communicating with city, state and federal leaders and stakeholders throughout the pandemic. I also wrote a Restaurant Recovery Plan to help our industry successfully navigate the pandemic.
Looking forward, as City Treasurer, I will work tirelessly to help our citizens and small business owners navigate through the pandemic and any economic challenges that may materialize. I will identify and partner with non-profits to help mitigate the housing insecurities that many citizens face due to the current Treasurer’s policy of aggressively enforcing tax liens that has harmed many in our city. I will collaborate with partners from the business, governmental, non-profit and banking sectors to create and execute on plans that help all our citizens successfully weather the storm of this pandemic.
How will you coordinate with city officials to ensure proper function of your office? On my first day in office, I will order an independent audit to identify critical reforms and improvements in how the Treasurer’s office and other city departments can usher in a new era of transparency and accountability. I will collaborate closely with other city departments and municipal leaders to ensure the Treasurer’s office is continuously improving the way it helps citizens and manages cash and other financial assets. Finally, I will work tirelessly to ensure the City Treasurer’s staff is the best-performing, most-responsive department across the entire city government. We work for the citizens of Virginia Beach, and we will never forget our mission of providing them the best service possible.
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