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Chesapeake, Virginia
| Chesapeake, Virginia | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Chesapeake
Richard West | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2028 |
| Last city council election: | 2024 |
| Next city council election: | 2026 |
| City council seats: | 9[1] |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 249,422 |
| Race: | White 56% African American 29% Asian 3.6% Native American 0.5% Pacific Islander 0.2% Multiple 8.1% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 7.1% |
| Median household income: | $94,189 |
| High school graduation rate: | 93.4% |
| College graduation rate: | 36.4% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Chesapeake offices | |
| Virginia Congressional Delegation Virginia State Legislature Virginia state executive offices | |
Chesapeake is an independent city located in Virginia. It is considered a county equivalent. The city's population was 249,422 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Chesapeake utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council—which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body—appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2]
Mayor
The mayor is a member of city council. He or she presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[2] The current Mayor of Chesapeake is Richard West (nonpartisan). West assumed office in 2017.
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, carrying out council policies, and hiring most senior-level city employees.[2]
City council
The Chesapeake City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[2]
The city council consists of nine members including the mayor. All are elected at large.[2]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Chesapeake has a Republican mayor. As of September 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, is holding general elections for commissioner of revenue, commonwealth's attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 4, 2025. A primary was scheduled for June 17, 2025. The filing deadline for primary candidates was April 3, 2025, and the filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates was June 17, 2025.
2024
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was June 18, 2024.
2023
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held general elections for soil and water conservation on November 7, 2023. The filing deadline for this election was August 18, 2023.
The city also held a special election for treasurer on November 7, 2023. The filing deadline was August 18, 2023.
2022
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held general elections for city council on November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was June 21, 2022.
2021
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held general elections for commissioner of revenue, commonwealth's attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for June 8, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was March 25, 2021, and the filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates was August 13, 2021.
2020
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and three city council positions on May 5, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was March 3, 2020.
2019
2018
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held elections for mayor and city council on May 1, 2018. In addition to the regularly scheduled elections for five at-large members of the city council, there was also a special election for mayor and another city council seat. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was March 6, 2018.
2017
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held elections for clerk of court, commissioner of revenue, commonwealth attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in the primary was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for independent candidates was June 13, 2017.
2016
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held elections for mayor and city council on May 3, 2016. Three of the seven city council seats were up for election.[3]
2014
The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, held elections for city council on May 6, 2014. Five of the eight council seats were up for election. Elections are held every two years on the first Tuesday in May to fill expiring terms.[4][5][6]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Chesapeake | |
|---|---|
| Chesapeake | |
| Population | 249,422 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 338 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 56.2% |
| Black/African American | 29% |
| Asian | 3.7% |
| Native American | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 2.6% |
| Multiple | 8.3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.4% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 93.4% |
| College graduation rate | 36.4% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $94,189 |
| Persons below poverty level | 8.7% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year. The city charter gives responsibility for drafting a budget to the city manager, who must submit a budget proposal to the city council for review and approval.[7]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[8]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[9] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[10] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[8]
Chesapeake, Virginia, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
306 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Phone: 757-382-6153
City Clerk's office
306 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Phone: 757-382-6151
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
As of September 2015, the city of Chesapeake did not have a local initiative process. For more information, see Laws governing ballot measures in Virginia and Laws governing local ballot measures in Virginia.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Chesapeake, following the death of George Floyd.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Chesapeake, Virginia, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[11]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 City of Chesapeake, "Plan of Government," accessed August 26, 2014
- ↑ City of Chesapeake, "Council and Mayoral Elections," accessed September 29, 2015.
- ↑ City of Chesapeake, Virginia, "Council and Mayoral Elections," accessed April 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Chesapeake, "Election Information," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ City of Chesapeake, "Official candidate list," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ City of Chesapeake, "FY 2022 to 2023 Approved Operating Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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