CHESAPEAKE — Following the death of Chesapeake Vice Mayor John de Triquet last week, City Council members plan to fill his position and appoint a new council member during their next two September council meetings.
de Triquet was reelected in 2022. His term is slated to end in December 2026, which means someone on the City Council will be appointed to fulfill the remainder of his vice mayor term, according to Mayor Rick West, who shared the process moving forward with The Virginian-Pilot on Thursday.
The council will also need to fill the vacancy on the nine-person City Council. Chesapeake’s city charter gives the council 30 days to fill the council vacancy, a process West said will take place at the Sept. 9 and Sept. 16 meetings. West said the council could arrange a special called meeting if needed, but having the vacancies filled at the Sept. 16 meeting would be within the 30-day threshold.
The city’s charter states that the appointed council member has to be a qualified voter of the city and will hold the office until a successor has been elected. The next City Council election will take place next year.
de Triquet was a longtime council member first elected in 1994. He served several stints as vice mayor, including for the current council. de Triquet also spent nearly 40 years working as a pediatrician at The Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughter, where he’s remembered for his compassionate care of thousands of children over the years.
West said he’s been speaking with all other council members over the last week to receive their nominations for who should fill the council vacancy. He plans to announce those nominations publicly at the Sept. 9 meeting, and the biographical information on each nominee will be posted on the city’s website.
Council members will then interview the nominees. Ideally, West said, they will select a council member to fill the vice mayor role as well as appoint a new council member at the Sept. 16 meeting.
It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday whether the process will include a formal public hearing, but West did say residents will have a chance to share their thoughts. The appointments are expected to be handled like other board and commission appointments, which are made by a majority council vote.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com