Rosemary Wilson's Platform
Education
As a parent and a former teacher,
Rosemary Wilson knows the
importance of parent voices in
education and how important
funding is to attract and retain the
best teachers.
Rosemary has voted to fully fund school budgets year after year and has supported teacher pay raises, full-day kindergarten, the academies and more student training in trades to prepare all students for a successful future.
Virginia Beach Public School students and teachers deserve the best that we can give them.
Providing Tax Relief
Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson
has a record of keeping Virginia
Beach taxes the lowest in all of
Hampton Roads. This year, tax
relief is needed more than ever.
Real estate taxes once surpassed
$1.22 per $100 of assessed value and Vice Mayor Wilson has fought to keep the rate below $1 year after year, even when 4 cents of that dollar was required to fund the Stormwater Referendum projects.
This year, with inflation such a burden on Virginia Beach families, Rosemary supports lowering the real estate tax rate for homeowners and is committed to tax relief as well as cutting wasteful spending.
Our Armed Forces
When the federal BRAC (Base
Realignment and Closure)
Commission threatened to close
NAS Oceana, Rosemary Wilson
stepped up to lead, helping create
the land use plan that saved NAS
Oceana.
Imagine Virginia Beach without our vibrant military partnership with Oceana. It almost happened.
NAS Oceana and Dam Neck are in District 5 and Vice Mayor Wilson, who grew up in a Navy Family, has always stood up for those who wore the nation’s uniform.
Public Safety
Vice Mayor Wilson has been
a strong public safety
supporter her entire career.
She supports our police, fire
and EMS and always has.
She helped elevate public safety pay to be the most competitive in the region and opposed any effort to defund the police.
Our First Responders are true heroes and the newly implemented step pay plan that Rosemary helped create has given our public safety professionals stability and security for now and the future.
Protecting Rudee Loop
Virginia Beach citizens spoke
loudly and clearly – Save Rudee
Loop.
The public wants Rudee Loop to
be a public park with open space and a clear view of the ocean maintained.
Rosemary Wilson completely agrees.
Due to her leadership, the city is moving forward with design for a world class park with open space and additional parking for residents to enjoy Rudee. It’s your park.
Preserving District 5 Quality of Life
District 5 is so much of what makes Virginia Beach special. Twenty-nine parks, a recreation center, a library, and 8 schools, plus NAS Oceana and Dam Neck are all in our district.
Our district is made of a collection of wonderful neighborhoods, each with unique needs and priorities.
Vice Mayor Wilson is committed to preserving our quality of life while making sure our future remains economically viable and prosperous, while giving our neighborhoods a strong voice on City Council.
Flooding & Stormwater
Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson
supported the referendum to
dedicate over half a billion dollars to
projects that mitigate flooding caused
by stormwater and sea level rise.
Rosemary worked with the rest of Council to fund those projects without raising taxes.
She is committed to protecting lives and property by keeping those projects on schedule.
Growing Small Business & Jobs
Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson knows most jobs are created by small businesses and Virginia Beach would not be a success without them.
She wrote the law exempting BPOL (Business Professional Occupancy Tax) taxes on startup businesses for the first two years to attract new jobs to Virginia Beach and encourage
entrepreneurship.
Rosemary continues exploring further avenues to reduce the BPOL tax. She also helped businesses survive through the pandemic and supports more tax relief for local small businesses to create more jobs.