VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — It may be the issue at the bottom of the ballot, but campaign contributions are ensuring the referendum on the city’s local election system remains top of mind.

Since May, nearly $600,000 total has been raised by three referendum committees created specifically to advocate for either a “Yes” or a “No” vote on the following question: “Should the method of city council elections set forth in the Virginia Beach City Charter be changed from a modified 7-3-1 system to a 10-1 system?”

Two committees are pushing for “Yes” votes, while the third is pushing for a “No” vote.

While the “No” committee has the clear cash advantage, raising more than half-a-million dollars, mainly from real estate and hospitality stakeholders, the “Yes” committees have both received “in-kind” help from a donor whose cash contributions can’t be easily traced.

The referendum itself is non-binding, however, there is hope it can help settle years of debate in the state’s largest city over how City Council and School Board members should be selected.

A “Yes” vote means that you support the 10-1 system, which was used in the 2022 and 2024 elections. In the 10-1 system, the city is divided into 10 districts, and the voters of each district elect a single council member, who must live in that district, with the mayor and one school board member elected at-large (city-wide).

A “No” vote means you support a 7-3-1 system described in the city charter. In a 7-3-1 system, the city is divided into seven districts, and the voters of each district elect a single council member that must live in that district, with three other members elected citywide with no specific residency requirement. The mayor would also continue to be elected citywide.

The latter is modified from what the charter language actually states. Prior to 2022, Virginia Beach races were conducted in what became known as a “hybrid at-large” system. Seven of the members serving on the city council or school board had to live in certain parts of the city, but every voter could vote for not only every district member, but also three at-large members and the mayor — thereby, a 7-3-1 system. A law passed by the General Assembly in 2021 abolished the use of the hybrid-at large system.

In 2021, a federal judge also ruled that Virginia Beach’s former 7-3-1 system “denies Hispanics, African Americans and Asians equal access to the electoral and political process.”

While a federal appeals court overturned Jackson’s ruling, the Virginia Beach city attorney deemed it too late to stop the use of the court-imposed 10-1 system for the 2022 City Council and School Board elections.

In June, a Virginia Circuit Court judge ruled the true power to change the charter lies with the Virginia General Assembly.

Linwood Branch, a former council member who sued the city over the implementation of 10-1, is part of the Every Vote Counts VB, the committee opposing the charter change.

“Ours is all local money,” Branch said. “It’s a broad swath of people, and it’s folks that legitimately want to … be able to vote in every election, have the most votes possible, and also not to cut our city up into 10 slices like a pizza, but to have some at-large representation so we can function as a city as well.”

Branch, president of Lynn-Dee Motel Inc., which operates the Days Inn at the Oceanfront, has contributed $12,500 to the committee according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.

In total $265,500 comes from those in the real estate and construction industry, $137,000 comes from hotel owners and operators and $25,000 from restaurant operators.

While not contributing financially hotelier Bruce Thompson and former Mayor Will Sessoms are also working on the committee.

Branch said he thinks part of the reason many resort stakeholders might be backing 7-3-1 has to do with treatment under the 10-1 system.

“I think part of it might be the experience with our aquarium where the aquarium was put up for sale without consulting the foundation that owns all the exhibits on all the animals,” Branch said. “There was no council members to talk to about that issue. The aquarium is really in two districts. It’s split by General Booth Boulevard and a lot of us are concerned that we’re not looking out for our city assets, and people are only concerned about their districts.”

City Council did explore looking for a new operator for the aquarium at the Oceanfront when it was presented with a $350 million proposal for upgrades and repairs. However it was never put up for sale.

Branch openly criticized Vote YES On 10-1 Referendum Coalition and Yes for Virginia Beach for their acceptance of services “from corporations outside our city.”

Both listed $12,500 in-kind services from Virginians for the Commonwealth, Inc. “In-kind” means no cash changed hands, but services that would have equated to the amount were provided. Both referendum campaigns state Virginians for the Commonwealth provided polling and research.

The company with a Richmond address was formed May 5 of this year, according to paperwork filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. That was two days before Virginia Beach City Council voted to put the referendum on the November ballot.

Virginians for the Commonwealth was formed as a 501(c)(4), which gives them the ability to participate politically. Their articles of incorporation states their purpose is to “educat(e) the broader community on key public policy matters; and (2) advocat(e) for or against particular legislative proposals and campaign initiatives.

William Riddle, Rhena Hicks and Mike Town are listed as members of the board of directors. While neither responded to requests for comment Wednesday, each are well known in political circles.

Riddle is listed as a lobbyist for the Virginia Education Association. Hicks is the co-executive director of another 501(c)4, Freedom Virginia, a group that “advances economic security policies through grassroots activism, voter engagement and legislative advocacy,” according to their website. Town is executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

Virginians for the Commonwealth would meet the definition of Dark Money, according to OpenSecrets.org.

“Politically active nonprofits such as 501(c)(4)s are generally under no legal obligation to disclose their donors even if they spend to influence elections,” the non-profit which follows money in the political process stated. “When they choose not to reveal their sources of funding, they are considered dark money groups.”

However Georgia Allen, a member of the Vote YES On 10-1 Referendum Coalition stated she doesn’t feel there is anything wrong with accepting the help. She said all monetary donations have been grassroots.

“The in-kind can be from like VEA or the Virginia Association of Teachers, or it could be mostly groups that are groups that tend to want to ensure that there is fair and equal voting,” Allen said.

“Virginians for the Commonwealth are an independent expenditure organization that cares about Virginia public schools,” Yes for Virginia Beach said in a statement, “and believes keeping the 10-1 system voting system is best for Virginia Beach public schools.”