Robert “Bobby” Dyer is a candidate for Virginia Beach Mayor. His name will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024.
Dyer, the incumbent, is running against 4 challengers for Virginia Beach Mayor.
The first day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office for this election is Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Click here to see who is on your ballot.
10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.
Name: Bobby Dyer
Age: 74
Website: www.bobbydyerformayor.com
Biography: Mayor Bobby Dyer was elected Mayor in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020.
He is the first Veteran and the first Ph.D. to be elected Mayor of Virginia Beach.
Previously, he served on City Council, first elected in 2004 and re-elected three times.
Mayor Dyer served his country as a United States Marine until 1972. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from St. Louis University, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickenson University, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University.
Mayor Dyer served as Assistant Dean and Assistant Professor with the Regent University
School of Government, as well as an Assistant Professor with Hampton University, an
Instructor at Old Dominion University and an Adjunct Professor at South University.
Mayor Bobby Dyer is former home care physical therapist.
Bobby and his wife, Trish, live in the Lake Christopher section of the Centerville District in Virginia Beach and have two children and four grandchildren.
Why are you running for this office?
Virginia Beach is a great city and I am asking the great people of Virginia Beach to hire me to continue towards greater success. We have seen very challenging times together from a global pandemic to national inflation and cost increases in everything from roads to schools to groceries. Through it all, Virginia Beach stays strong. We’ve attracted new jobs, invested in mitigating flooding, revamped our city pay scales and made major investments in public safety, all while keeping the lowest tax rate of any city in Hampton Roads. Our record is unmatched, and I humbly ask to partner with you again for another four years.
What is the top challenge facing Virginia Beach, and how would you address it?
Affordability is the biggest challenge, and we have worked to address it in multiple ways. First, we continue to lower real estate tax rates to keep them the lowest in the region. We have encouraged housing where it is needed, like the unanimous support for converting KempsRiver Crossing to a mixed-use revitalization. We’ve also attracted new jobs and new employers like Amazon to Virginia Beach to offer more career opportunities.
What is your view on preserving agricultural land while also addressing the affordable housing crisis?
I have always and will always oppose development in our agricultural areas in the southern part of Virginia Beach. Agriculture is a major part of our local economy and, with our proximity to the port, it grows even stronger. Also, agriculture is part of who we are in Virginia Beach.
How do you view Virginia Beach’s continued growth strategy? What would you change?
Virginia Beach is a popular place to live, work and raise a family. That’s a good thing, but it creates other challenges like high demand for housing, which raises costs, traffic and other issues. We certainly won’t see population growth we saw decades ago. Our growth strategy should focus on quality more than quantity and focus on bringing in new jobs to take advantage of our partnerships with the military as well as the investments we’ve made in technology with international broadband cables coming ashore here.
What is your view on changing the operational model of the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center?
I think the partnership between the city and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation is one of the big success stories in Virginia Beach over the years. While venues like the Amphitheater and the Sandler Center have benefitted from outside management, I think the Aquarium management deserves our support. I look forward to a continued successful partnership as we work together to secure funding for needed upgrades to the facility, which is a city responsibility.
What is your view on taking money from individuals who will likely have business before the city?
Campaign contributions are a reality of running for office, which can be an expensive endeavor, and I don’t know many candidates who enjoy fundraising. My last opponent raised almost a million dollars.
Two things are critical. One, to be completely transparent so that everyone knows who a candidates’ supporters are. Two, to be true to your core values. Every vote I cast is aligned with my core values and whether an applicant supported me or not does not impact that vote.
How will you still value constituents with whom you disagree with?
Some of the best conversations I have are with great people who have a different point of view. Polarization and partisanship have really hurt our national discourse. We need to encourage different points of view to be spoken, written and heard. President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill were from opposite parties who disagreed often but found a way to discuss those different priorities and find areas of agreement. I try to be a Mayor that anyone can approach and talk to about any issue and together we will find a solution.