WILLIAMSBURG — Two of the three candidates for two open seats on Williamsburg City Council answered questions on housing, taxes and Flock cameras at a forum Tuesday at the Williamsburg Regional Library.
Stacy Kern-Scheerer and Eino Korpela appeared at the nonpartisan event, sponsored by the local chapters of the League of Women Voters and the NAACP. Caroline Murphy did not attend. Organizers said she was out of the county.
Kern-Scheerer, a lawyer, has served on the council since January 2023 and is seeking re-election. Her term ends Dec. 31. She worked as an attorney in the U.S. Senate, taught at William & Mary Law School, has lived in the community for 17 years and has a child at Lafayette High School.
Korpela graduated from William & Mary in 2025 with a degree in accounting and data science. He owns PureHome Water Solutions, a residential water-treatment and water-filtration company.
Michael Fox, assistant to the president and secretary to the Board of Visitors at William & Mary, moderated. Candidates gave one-minute answers in turn to questions from organizers and the audience. Organizers asked that no questions be negative and that each address both candidates.
On affordable housing, Korpela suggested looking at underused properties, citing Quarter Path and Battery Boulevard as examples. Kern-Scheerer said the approach depends on whether the need is for families or first-time buyers. She suggested partnering with local banks on loan assistance, asking William & Mary to add student rentals, supporting hotel-to-apartment conversions and creating a community land trust like the one in James City County.
Fox also asked whether the candidates support the city’s building projects, including a fire station, police station, sports complex and library, and the debt tied to them.
Korpela said he supports the police and fire stations. He agreed the library has outlived its useful life but said the issue comes down to transparency.
“I want residents to have a clearer understanding of the financial situation of the city,” he said.
Kern-Scheerer said she was involved in discussions about the police station and library and supported both. She noted that all of the facilities were built in the 1970s.
“These decisions are not taken lightly, nor are they done without consideration of the long-term financial picture,” she said.
Asked hypothetically about a data center, both candidates said they firmly oppose having one in the city.
Flock cameras are automated license plate readers, made by Flock Safety, that photograph passing vehicles and store the data in a system police can search. On the city’s use of the cameras, Kern-Scheerer said she is personally not a fan but understands law enforcement’s needs and has complete trust in the Williamsburg Police Department.
“However, for me, the Flock conversation is not about our local police department,” she said. “It is actually about whether Williamsburg wants to be a part of a system and a surveillance network that we don’t entirely control.”
She said she does not think the city has strong enough guardrails for the system and is open to building consensus on regulations.
Korpela said he is firmly against the cameras because he does not trust a private company that isn’t transparent to hold that level of power. Before forming an opinion, he said, he did a night-shift ride-along with local police.
He said the experience gave him respect for officers, but not a sense of the cameras’ usefulness.
“I heard, time and time again, that it’s been so limited that it’s kind of almost useless,” Korpela said.
The forum took place before James City County police announced Sept. 20 that an officer had been fired for allegedly misusing the cameras.
Both candidates said they want to maintain current real estate tax rates.
Asked about a performing arts complex, Kern-Scheerer said she support the performing arts but would not feel comfortable bringing the idea forward in a new term because of finances. Korpela agreed, saying the city should not rush into another financial liability.
Fox asked whether the candidates support the three constitutional amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot. The first would establish protections for reproductive decisions, including abortion, birth control and fertility care. The second would remove Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The third would establish a fundamental right to vote and automatically restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies upon release from incarceration.
Kern-Scheerer said she supports all three and will vote yes. Korpela said he supports restoring voting rights to convicted felons once they have served time.
“I think adult people can make their own decisions, and that should be respected across the board,” he said of the amendment.
Asked how they would stay responsive to voters, Korpela said it starts with acknowledging he doesn’t know everything, especially compared with people who have invested decades in the city. He said he would knock on doors. Kern-Scheerer said she sometimes shows up at constituents’ homes rather than only returning calls.
Korpela gave his closing statement first. He recalled his grandmother’s advice that helping others is the cure for a bad day and called the campaign a privilege.
Kern-Scheerer said the first 10 years of her career, as a legislative lawyer in the Senate, taught her what public service means.
“It means putting the mission above your ego, learning how to navigate through conflict with a steady hand, and helping in the pursuit of problem-solving for the greater good,” she said.
She said she bought her first home in Williamsburg 17 years ago and has raised her family here.
After the council forum, Han Jones, state political director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia; Kenda Sutton-El, founding executive director of Birth in Color RVA; the Rev. Jude Geiger, minister of Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists; Robin Jester Wootton, Director of Religious Education at Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists; Del. Marcia Price, D-Newport News; and Sheba Williams, founder of NoLef Turns, to answer questions about the constitutional amendments on the November ballot.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting continues through Oct. 31.
