VIRGINIA BEACH — Councilwoman Shannon Kane resigned from her Rose Hall District seat effective April 6, according to a letter submitted by Kane to City Council Friday.
In the letter, Kane wrote “my family and I have purchased a new home” outside of the Rose Hall District, “and are moving in next weekend.”
According to deeds recorded with the Circuit Court Thursday, Kane and her husband Patrick Kane bought a home in the 3800 block of Boysenberry Court, which is in the Princess Anne District.
“I believe that an elected official who is elected to represent a district needs to live in that district for the entirety of the term of office,” Kane wrote. “For that reason, I am announcing my resignation from Virginia Beach City Council, effective April 6.”
The Kane family has lived in a home on Notley Drive in the Rose Hall District since February 2008, according to the deed recording the sale of that home. The Notley Drive house is the only real estate Kane and her husband own in the city, according to Kane’s 2019 Statement of Economic Interests forms.
Kane’s resignation follows her January announcement that she would run in the general election against Del. Kelly Fowler, a freshman Democrat who unseated former-Del. Ron Villanueva for the 21st District seat in 2017.
Related story: Virginia Beach councilwoman to run against freshman Democrat in delegate race
“I understand the difficulty of this announcement, especially when City Council is already working on filling a vacant seat representing the Beach district,” Kane wrote in her resignation letter. “But I believe the honorable decision is for me to step aside and allow citizens of the Rose Hall District to step up and serve.”
Although Kane’s move to Boysenberry Court takes her out of the Rose Hall District, Kane is still within the boundaries of the Virginia House of Delegate’s 21st District, and her new home won’t affect her run for delegate against Fowler.
Kane’s resignation is the third instance this month of a Virginia Beach elected official leaving office because of issues related to their residency.
On March 7, School Board member for the Rose Hall District Joel McDonald resigned after a bankruptcy forced him to move from his home — and out of the district he represented. Like members of City Council, School Board members must reside in the district where they were elected.
On March 8, a three-judge panel ruled that David Nygaard moved to the Beach District for the sole purpose of running for office. The judges declared his election invalid and removed Nygaard from the Beach District seat.
Tuesday will be Kane’s last meeting as a member of City Council.
City Council has 15 days from the effective date of the resignation to petition the court for a special election, and 45 days from the effective date of the resignation to appoint a qualified voter who is a resident of the Rose Hall district to serve Kane’s unexpired term, officials said.
“I want to assure the Citizens of Virginia Beach that this resignation will not adversely affect the business of City Council,” Mayor Bobby Dyer wrote in a prepared statement. “We will work to fill the vacancy in an expeditious manner.”
