CAPE CHARLES, Va. — Voters in Cape Charles have chosen three new members for the Town Council, with Andrew J. “Andy” Buchholz, Tara S. Ashworth, and Clayton H. Newman securing the top spots in the tightly contested race.
See results from all of Northampton County Here
Buchholz led with 456 votes, accounting for 21.17% of the total. Ashworth followed closely behind with 367 votes (17.04%), while Newman rounded out the top three with 279 votes, or 12.95%.
The race saw a range of candidates vying for seats, with Edward B. “Ed” Wells finishing fourth with 264 votes (12.26%) and Carol L. Sabo securing 251 votes (11.65%). Mark L. Usry, John B. Rowe, Martin W. Beckett, and Jo M. Bronson each earned fewer votes, with write-in candidates receiving a total of 19 votes.
Voters were allowed to select up to three candidates. The election results will bring new perspectives to the council as Cape Charles continues to navigate growth and development in the small coastal community.
The newly elected council members are expected to take office in early 2025, joining current members to address issues such as infrastructure, tourism, beach parking, and the short-term rental quagmire.
Are these new folks pro tourism and growth or more conservative keep/return Cape Charles to its roots? Asking as a new Cape Charles fan. Thanks
For those of us who want to see limits placed on the number of STRs allowed in Cape Charles, these election results were not encouraging. Two of the council members live in Bay Creek, which has an HOA to manage STRs in their community, and the third council member is also a fan of STRs, though he advocates for wanting to attract “young families” to Cape Charles…given the cost of purchasing a home here, these will have to be very wealthy “young families.” If you are disappointed in town council’s resistance to limiting the overall number of STRs, or the density of STRs in town, I suggest you put a LIMIT STRS sign in your yard, until such a time as we have a town council willing to do this for those of us who call this little town “home”…while we still have a little town with people who live here.