The Audacity of John Uhrin
You would think that an incumbent member of city council who couldn’t manage to get a plurality of the vote in a four-way race would get the message:
The people really, really don’t like you.
But not John Uhrin, in my opinion the worst City Council member in Virginia Beach. He’s still hoping to eke out a victory after being soundly rejected by about 98,000 voters out of the roughly 145,000 who cast ballots in his race.
Think about it: multiple opponents - usually an incumbent’s dream - weren’t enough to hand him a victory.
In fact, more than 67 percent of Beachites cast ballots for someone - anyone - else. That includes almost 16,000 who went for John Coker, a candidate with little money or name recognition and who had dropped OUT of the race weeks before Election Day.
Ouch. That’s gotta hurt.
David Nygaard and John Uhrin (📷by Danna Cullen)
But it’s no surprise that most folks wanted Uhrin out, when you consider his career on council.
Not only was he arrested for domestic assault six years ago after a late-night altercation with his wife - charges were dropped, seems it was just your usual Saturday night driveway donnybrook - but he also brought the FBI to town. The feds reportedly launched a criminal investigation into his vote to give the Cavalier hotel project $18 million in tax money not long before his wife went to work selling the Cavalier’s luxury residences.
Uhrin claimed he didn’t know she’d get the job at the time of the council vote.
In fairness, Uhrin was just doing what he was sent to council to do: serve as the developers’ bucket boy.
And he was damn good at that job.
Now the councilman who lost by more than 200 votes to jeweler David Nygaard is demanding a recount. (So are two other candidates who lost by narrow margins in other races. Neither of them are incumbents, however.)
Heck, why shouldn’t Uhrin get one? It’s his right. And like so many of the projects he’s supported on council, he knows the taxpayers will pick up the tab.
The votes will be recounted in the coming weeks.
When it’s over - God willing - Uhrin will still be a loser and the people will finally have someone to represent THEM on City Council.
