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VIRGINIA BEACH — Councilman John Moss has long been a fixture on the Virginia Beach City Council, known for his fiscally conservative approach to budget issues and for asking tough questions. But his tenure is seemingly coming to an end.
Moss ran for the District 9 seat under the city’s new election system, and trails opponent Joash Schulman by nearly 300 votes.
The final results, with after-election absentee and provisional ballots included, are expected to be complete Monday, according to the city registrar.
Moss, 68, who served a total of 18 years on council since the mid-1980s, conceded the morning after Election Day.
“I have no trouble accepting the judgment of the voters,” he said in a phone interview with The Virginian-Pilot later Wednesday morning. “I’m at peace with how it went.”
But why did he likely lose?
Schulman, 43, believes political partisanship played a role.
He suggested that Moss and the third candidate in the race, T.J. Morgan, both Republicans, split the GOP vote.
“I was running against two people who were to the right; I knew I had a shot,” Schulman said. “We were hoping that they were going to go after a lot of the same voters.”
Virginia Beach City Council positions are nonpartisan. However, candidates often express their affiliations and seek support from local political parties.
“You can say it’s nonpartisan, but I think that’s a lot of smoke and mirrors,” said Morgan, 56, who was open about being a Republican — even printing his affiliation on campaign signs.
Moss is a member of Virginia Beach Republican City Committee, an organization that supports GOP elected officials and recruits candidates for office.
Schulman, an attorney, describes himself as a “center-left” independent. He has served in leadership roles on several local civic and business groups.
Moss said Democrats were “more cohesive and more organized in getting out to vote,” and it had an impact on multiple city races. Moss also said support for Schulman from real estate developers carried him over the finish line.
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Early in the evening on election night, Morgan was leading the pack, but when the early and absentee votes were added to the tally, Schulman pulled ahead.
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According to the registrar, 36,247 people voted early in person, 18,832 voted early by mail so far, and about 105,000 voted on Election Day. And 4,000 absentee by-mail ballots were issued.
As for Moss, he’s going to miss being on City Council, but says he’ll survive without it.
“It does not define my life,” he said. “I don’t have to serve forever.”
Moss will be at three more City Council meetings before his term comes to an end. But don’t count him out for good.
He’s willing to help when needed with advice, and Schulman plans to take him up on it.
“There is no one who understands the city budget better than John Moss,” Schulman said. “I would be a fool not to avail myself of his expertise.”
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com