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Finally! Her 20 year reign is over. 
She lost me with all the residential development too close to Oceana. She knew it wasn't supposed to be built so close, but she did it any way. 
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/oberndorf-concedes-sessoms-virginia-beach-mayor-race
Oberndorf concedes to Sessoms for Virginia Beach mayor
By Deirdre Fernandes
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 5, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH
Meyera Oberndorf’s two-decade reign as mayor came to an end Tuesday.
At a press conference in Virginia Beach this afternoon, Oberndorf conceded the race to challenger Will Sessoms.
With all but the absentee ballots counted, Oberndorf was down 10,000 votes to Will Sessoms. Oberndorf said earlier this morning that she wanted all the votes counted.
City elections officials counted the votes through the night and with 94 of 95 precincts reporting this morning, results indicated voters had ushered her out in favor of bank president Will Sessoms, who amassed a record-breaking war chest and used it to offset Oberndorf’s almost universal name recognition. Absentee ballots will be counted today.
“I’m humbled by the numbers,” Sessoms said during a celebration at Chester’s Upper Deck Restaurant at the Oceanfront. “I’ve had a lot of hard work from a lot of friends who have stepped up, and you’re seeing the results of that tonight.”
Oberndorf, who started her political career as a member of the library board, sat quietly in a corner of Guadalajara Restaurant at Town Center as poll workers and her husband, Roger, gave her results as they were sporadically updated.
During the campaign, Sessoms, a former vice mayor, emphasized his business background and convinced voters that the city needed new leadership.
He raised about $603,000 to Oberndorf’s $85,000. Sessoms used his seven-fold edge to buy a slew of television advertisements and blanket the city with campaign signs. Sessoms gathered significant support from the business community.
Candidate John Moss, a former member of the City Council, leader of the Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance and a critic of the city’s fiscal policies, tried to appeal to conservatives. He pushed for reduced spending and lower residential taxes.
Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL making his first bid for office, targeted new voters and those with ties to the military.
Over the course of the past two months, the candidates attended dozens of forums and debated issues, such as taxes, economic development, light rail and education.
The move of the election from May to November brought in an avalanche of new voters and raised new concerns. Political activists and candidates predicted it would be difficult to keep party politics out of local races when local ballots are shared with national and state partisan campaigns.
Pilot writer Shawn Day contributed to this report.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
She lost me with all the residential development too close to Oceana. She knew it wasn't supposed to be built so close, but she did it any way. http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/oberndorf-concedes-sessoms-virginia-beach-mayor-race
Oberndorf concedes to Sessoms for Virginia Beach mayor
By Deirdre Fernandes
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 5, 2008
VIRGINIA BEACH
Meyera Oberndorf’s two-decade reign as mayor came to an end Tuesday.
At a press conference in Virginia Beach this afternoon, Oberndorf conceded the race to challenger Will Sessoms.
With all but the absentee ballots counted, Oberndorf was down 10,000 votes to Will Sessoms. Oberndorf said earlier this morning that she wanted all the votes counted.
City elections officials counted the votes through the night and with 94 of 95 precincts reporting this morning, results indicated voters had ushered her out in favor of bank president Will Sessoms, who amassed a record-breaking war chest and used it to offset Oberndorf’s almost universal name recognition. Absentee ballots will be counted today.
“I’m humbled by the numbers,” Sessoms said during a celebration at Chester’s Upper Deck Restaurant at the Oceanfront. “I’ve had a lot of hard work from a lot of friends who have stepped up, and you’re seeing the results of that tonight.”
Oberndorf, who started her political career as a member of the library board, sat quietly in a corner of Guadalajara Restaurant at Town Center as poll workers and her husband, Roger, gave her results as they were sporadically updated.
During the campaign, Sessoms, a former vice mayor, emphasized his business background and convinced voters that the city needed new leadership.
He raised about $603,000 to Oberndorf’s $85,000. Sessoms used his seven-fold edge to buy a slew of television advertisements and blanket the city with campaign signs. Sessoms gathered significant support from the business community.
Candidate John Moss, a former member of the City Council, leader of the Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance and a critic of the city’s fiscal policies, tried to appeal to conservatives. He pushed for reduced spending and lower residential taxes.
Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL making his first bid for office, targeted new voters and those with ties to the military.
Over the course of the past two months, the candidates attended dozens of forums and debated issues, such as taxes, economic development, light rail and education.
The move of the election from May to November brought in an avalanche of new voters and raised new concerns. Political activists and candidates predicted it would be difficult to keep party politics out of local races when local ballots are shared with national and state partisan campaigns.
Pilot writer Shawn Day contributed to this report.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
