Financial stakes rising in Virginia Beach mayoral race

By Richard Quinn, The Virginian-Pilot - July 29, 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH - It's 16 months before the next mayoral election, and the latest campaign finance reports show former Vice Mayor Will Sessoms had $221,711.51 sitting in the bank on June 30.

Well over a year before Election Day, Mayor Meyera Oberndorf faces a challenger who has already raised more than twice what she raised in her last campaign. And Sessoms plans to increase his war chest to at least $500,000 by the time voters cast their ballots.

"Every year, the price of running for office goes up," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. "Every time I think there's a ceiling, we add another story to the campaign finance building."

What will probably be the most expensive mayoral race in Virginia Beach's history is fueled by several factors.

Next year's city election is the first to be held in November. Municipal races have long been held in the spring, but they were recently switched to the fall, where they will now compete with federal elections.

Also, any candidate looking to unseat Oberndorf, a five-term incumbent, needs strong financial backing to do it, said Dave Iwans, a consultant to Sessoms' campaign.

"It's going to take a serious candidate with some serious resources to compete effectively," Iwans said Friday.

Sessoms' largesse was revealed earlier this month in reports filed with the state Board of Elections.

Much of his money comes from the business community. Sessoms, a council member from 1988 to 2002 and vice mayor for 10 of those years, is president of TowneBank Virginia Beach.

Oberndorf did not file a report. She told Inside Business, a Hampton Roads business journal, that raising funds this far in advance of an election would conflict with her elected duty.

Oberndorf was out of the country on city business Friday and couldn't be reached for comment. Sessoms was also out of the country Friday and unavailable for comment.

Oberndorf has said she plans to start raising money about six months before Election Day.

Don Weeks, a former councilman and another declared candidate, hasn't filed his first campaign finance report, either. Weeks has started a Web site for his supporters, www.cityhallforall.com.

The mayor hasn't said how much money she plans to raise but hinted it would be difficult to match Sessoms' tally.

"I have to be very candid with you," Oberndorf told Inside Business. "I am not a very strong fund raiser."

Perhaps making the path more challenging is that Sessoms has already tapped some of the people who gave to Oberndorf's last campaign.

And some of those contributors gave much more to Sessoms than they did to the mayor, a review of campaign finance reports show.

Developer Michael Sifen gave Oberndorf $750 in her last run. Sifen has already given Sessoms $10,000. Similarly, developer Doug Ellis gave Oberndorf $1,000 in 2004. This year, he's given Sessoms $5,000.

Sabato said he is not surprised to see the expense of campaigning rise in Virginia Beach. Similar-size cities have already had races cost more than $1 million, he said.

"What we're seeing in Virginia Beach is part of a national trend, it's part of a state trend," Sabato added. "There's no end to it. And people can expect the next election... to be more expensive than this one."

Richard Quinn, (757) 222-5119, richard.quinn@pilotonline.com