At a special July 1 Charlottesville City Council meeting, first-term councilor David Brown was elected mayor. Kevin Lynch, an incumbent councilman, was elected vice mayor.
"I am looking forward to working with the new council," Lynch said. "I think David will do a great job."
Brown was elected mayor with unanimous support from the four Council Democrats with sole Republican Rob Schilling abstaining. The same four councilors voted for Lynch for vice mayor, while Schilling voted in opposition.
Schilling, the only other nominee for mayor, had nominated himself, but his motion fell short without a second.
This is the first time a newly-elected councilor was elected mayor in over a decade.
Newly-elected councilors Brown and Kendra Hamilton were installed during a ceremony on the steps of City Hall on June 30, taking the oath of office administered by a local judge.
The first regular Council meeting with the new mayor and vice mayor was held July 6. Council appropriated funding in order to secure more property for the crowded local court system in conjunction with Albemarle County.
A proposal was also considered to move Council elections to November to coincide with other state and national elections. Councilors believe it will increase voter turnout and lower election-related costs. It costs the city of Charlottesville an additional $32,000 to run the May stand-alone elections.
Brown has previously said that a majority of Council members, including himself, would accept shortening their terms by six months in order to make this change. If approved, the next election would occur in November 2005, instead of May 2006.
"One of the things on my agenda in particular is to improve relations with the city and Albemarle County and the University," Brown said. "U.Va. is a part of what makes the city great and is also a source of some of the difficulty."
The mayor and vice mayor are elected by Council for two-year terms. The mayor sets the agenda for the Council meetings and has a regular vote; he also makes appointments to other city offices. The vice mayor takes over mayoral duties in the mayor's absence.
Brown added that he hopes Council will soon consider new policies to make meetings more efficient and transparent to the public, citing that some meetings have lasted until one in the morning. He expressed concerns over the public's ability to participate in late-night meetings.
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