ROANOKE, Va. – A triumphant Nick Hagen threw his hands in the air during a watch party in Downtown Roanoke after the unofficial Roanoke City election returns showed he would join the City Council.
“For the first time in a generation, a Republican’s been elected to City Council, Nick Hagen,” exclaimed Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke.
Nick Hagen finished third in the unofficial results, enough for a seat on the city’s legislative body. He will be the first Republican to serve on the council in 2000.
“We look forward to bringing in some commonsense values to council and making sure that so many people have a voice again,” Hagen said during his victory speech Tuesday night.
Terry McGuire and Phazhon Nash, both Democrats, also won seats on the council.
David Bowers, also a Republican, is currently leading the mayor’s race by 11 votes.
He said having GOP representation on the council would be good for the city.
“I said it over the years, the best years I served as mayor was when there were Democrats and Republicans and independents on the City Council,” Bowers told reporters Tuesday night. “And I like that balance. I think the people of Roanoke like that balance. They want some diversity of opinion on the Roanoke City Council.”
Bowers served as Mayor from 1992 to 2000 as a Democrat, during the last time there was Republican representation on the City Council.
Both Nash and McGuire said they looked forward to working with Hagen on the council.
Hagen, Nash and McGuire all opposed the recent zoning changes in Roanoke allowing multifamily housing in areas where previously only single-family housing was allowed.
Nash told 10 News a top priority for him would be a repeal of the changes.
“I’d like to see us strategically think about we’re going to achieve affordable housing, not just housing across the board, but affordable housing,” Nash said.
McGuire isn’t prepared to go that far - yet.
“I’m not interested in supporting a repeal unless there is some kind of compromise in place that I can support that does address our housing needs, our need to do more development,” he said. “I do want to see more development across the city but in a way that I think that is respectful of public input and neighborhood quality of life and done in a way that I think is a little more transparent.
McGuire said a lot will depend on who is the new mayor of Roanoke. David Bowers also opposed the zoning changes, but Joe Cobb supports them.