CHESAPEAKE — City Council on Tuesday appointed Chesapeake Police Officer E. R. “Jeff” Jefferies to the nine-person city council, filling a vacancy that resulted from the death of Vice Mayor John de Triquet in August.
de Triquet was a pediatrician who had been on the council since 1994.
Chesapeake’s city charter gives the council 30 days to fill the council vacancy with a Chesapeake resident. Last week, Mayor Rick West announced that council member Jeff Bunn nominated Jefferies, who unsuccessfully ran for an open council seat in the 2024 election, and council member Les Smith nominated former council member Dwight Parker, who has served on the council several times before.
City Council’s vote on Tuesday to appoint Jefferies was 7-1, with all but Smith in support, following interviews held in closed session before the start of the regular meeting. The city posted biography and resume information on Jefferies and Parker on its website following last week’s announcement, allowing the public to read up on the two nominees and send comments via email prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
Council members did not share at the meeting any feedback received, but West later told The Virginian-Pilot they received around seven or eight emails, with many supporting Jefferies’ appointment. Speaking opportunities at Tuesday’s meeting were limited to the planning-related public hearing items on the agenda, so the public was unable to weigh in on the appointment during the public comment period.
Jefferies did not immediately respond to a request for comment via phone Tuesday. In a phone call after the meeting, West told The Pilot Jefferies will be a good contribution to the council given his experience making quick decisions on the police force.
“We really did have two very good candidates and we couldn’t have gone wrong by selecting either one,” West said. “He’s had those kind of experiences. Have to make those quick decisions, and sometimes unpopular decisions, (that) are the right decisions for the city.”
Jeff Jefferies. (Courtesy image)
Jefferies has worked for the Chesapeake Police Department for more than 20 years and currently serves as captain in the investigations bureau, according to information posted on the city’s website. He was also co-owner of Crossfit Chesapeake.
In a city council race with nine candidates and three open council seats last year, Jefferies finished within 1% of the candidate who secured the third seat. Though he qualified for a recount, he didn’t request one. Jefferies received 46,401, or just shy of 15%, of the total votes cast, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. He had the backing of the Chesapeake Republican Party in the nonpartisan race.
West said it’s not yet known when the council will select which member will fulfill the remainder of de Triquet’s term and become vice mayor, which ends December 2026. The city’s charter doesn’t require an appointment of vice mayor within 30 days. But council members spent more than two hours last week in a closed session to discuss the vice mayor appointment. West said Tuesday they’re still moving through the process.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
