COURTHOUSE — City Councilmember Louis Jones, who was first elected to office in 1982, says he is considering another run for public office under the new 10-district voting system in Virginia Beach this year.
However, Jones has not decided for sure whether he will run, due, in part, to business commitments. Jones, who is the president and owner of a funeral home, said he has never been busier, though there are still goals to see through on the City Council.
“I’m planning on it,” Jones said on Tuesday, Feb. 22, speaking of running to represent the new District 8 after his long service representing the Bayside District under the former local voting system.
“I’m just thinking about it,” he added.
Jones said there is more work to do on the council, especially with the city’s ambitious flood mitigation program backed by voters this past year in a bond referendum.
If Jones runs, he is poised to face at least one other candidate, Rona Marsh, who has a finance background and has been an advocate for fiscal responsibility.
“It’s all about affordability,” Marsh said during an interview on Wednesday, Feb. 23. “That is my campaign. I am ready to get on that council and get them to be financially responsible.”
Marsh has been active as a speaker during City Council meetings in recent years, especially on issues involving finance, such as unfunded pension liabilities, and concerns about flooding.
She has a background as a bank auditor and financial fraud examiner. Marsh is a San Francisco native, and she came to Hampton Roads in 2000, living in Chesapeake before coming to the Beach in 2007. She lives in Thalia.
“I think I can make a difference,” Marsh said. “I want to be the citizens’ voice, the citizens’ candidate.”
Marsh has already filed paperwork to run this year.
There is some uncertainty about elections under the new system, which was ordered by a judge after a decision that now is under appeal by the city.
Marsh said she hopes to join the council and help the city address its finances.
“We’re really good at adding costs and adding people and adding expenses, but where do we balance it with any subtractions?” she said. “Where are the subtractions?”
Jones, known to some as “Mr. Bayside,” has served on the council for more than 35 years.
He has twice served as mayor, for two years in the 1980s and for several months in 2018 on an interim basis following the resignation of former Mayor Will Sessoms.
Jones was the city’s vice mayor from 2001 to 2018.
A major accomplishment was his work on the Lake Gaston water project.
During an interview, Jones spoke of the challenge of addressing stormwater and flooding concerns as being as significant as the Lake Gaston project, which brought the city a dependable water source.
“I think it’s probably the second-most major project we’ve had in Virginia Beach, since Lake Gaston,” Jones said, speaking of the 21 flood mitigation projects slated to be completed with funding from the bonds. “I would like to see it through.”
© 2022 Pungo Publishing Co., LLC
R Marsh is combative and divisive. She’d be a disaster on city council. VB needs someone who has a track record, gets things done and works well with others! And thats not Marsh as anyone who has heard her speak knows.