Election brings new voices to Roanoke City Council

ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Mayor’s race provided a dramatic finish Tuesday night, but the election of three City Council members will also shape the direction of the city for the next four years.

The way the election results unfolded gave the candidates some nervous moments. “It was kind of scary there in the beginning,” Trish White-Boyd told WDBJ7. “It was kind of surreal,” added Robert Jeffrey.

And they had to wait, before the winners were able to celebrate. “I screamed,” said Stephanie Moon Reynolds. “I jumped up and down, so I’m still trying to digest it.”

White-Boyd won her first full term. She was appointed to City Council in 2019.

“There were a lot of candidates on the ballot,” White-Boyd said in an interview, “and I felt like I really had to work hard in order to retain my seat on council. And I am pleased with the results of that.”

Victory was sweet for businessman Robert Jeffrey, who won a seat on City Council on his second try.

“I’m not taking this job lightly and it’s not for fanfare,” Jeffrey said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s more about getting work done. I’m about getting work done. And I’m committed to do that.”

And Stephanie Moon Reynolds assumes a new role after serving as City Clerk.

“I still believe in community outreach, in community engagement,” Moon Reynolds said. “Still education, still youth initiatives, and so I am still going to stand with that agenda and work hopefully with the council members, with the administration to see how we can make all of that happen.”

With the election of Mayor Lea, Jeffrey, Moon Reynolds and White-Boyd, Roanoke City Council now has a majority of African American members for the first time.