VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The vacant seat for the Kempsville District on the Virginia Beach City Council has been filled.
The city announced Tuesday that Rocky Holcomb, chief deputy for the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office, has been selected to fill the unexpired term for the Kempsville District until a special election can be scheduled.
Holcomb, a former U.S. Marine and former delegate in the Virginia General Assembly representing the 85th House District, has been with the sheriff's office since 1991 and currently oversees administrative operations. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from Regent University.
Holcomb will take his seat at the dais starting Tuesday, August 17. He was selected after a process that asked interested individuals to apply to fill the vacant seat.
From the initial group of applications, city council identified a group of nine applicants to consider. After hearing from each candidate during the August 10 Council meeting, the council selected three candidates to advance as finalists. On August 12, council members received public comments about each candidate before deliberating to make their decision.
The seat became vacant on July when Councilwoman Jessica Abbott resigned due to medical reasons. State law authorizes the city council to fill the vacancy until a special election can be scheduled, which will likely be in November 2022.
