VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — City Councilman Aaron Rouse wants the Virginia General Assembly to give the City of Virginia Beach power to institute term limits and limits on who can run for City Council positions.
Rouse included both ideas in the city’s legislative agenda that is currently still in the development stage. The annual agenda is used to communicate the city’s priorities to state lawmakers for the legislative session. Virginia is what is known as a Dillon Rule state, meaning localities have authority to the extent the General Assembly has approved.
One of Rouse’s proposals would require a change in Virginia’s code, another would require the multi-year process of amending the state’s Constitution.
In a City Council meeting last week, Rouse said he made the proposals after receiving feedback from constituents about “potential conflicts of interests.” It became clear fairly quickly that the ideas won’t receive full City Council support.
“I hope it’s the will of this body to reject this,” Councilman Rocky Holcomb said when bringing up Rouse’s proposal on limitations to who can run.
