Meyera E. Oberndorf

Meyera E. Oberndorf
23rd Mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia
Preceded by	Robert G. Jones
Succeeded by	William D. Sessoms, Jr.
In office July 1, 1988 – January 1, 2009
Vice Mayor of Virginia Beach
In office July 1, 1986 – June 30, 1988
Preceded by	Reba McClanan
Succeeded by	Robert Fentress
Member, Virginia Beach City Council
In office July 1, 1976 – June 30, 1988
Member, Public Library Board
In office 1966 – June 30, 1976
Personal details
Born	February 10, 1941 (1941-02-10) (age 70)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Roger Oberndorf
Alma mater	Old Dominion University (B.A.)
Profession	public servant
Religion	Jewish
Website	[1]

Meyera E. Oberndorf (born February 10, 1941) was the 23rd mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia. She was Virginia Beach's longest serving mayor, and she previously served as the city's vice mayor. She was the city's first female mayor and was the first woman elected to public office in the more than 300-year history of Virginia Beach or its predecessor, Princess Anne County.^[1] She is also a breast cancer survivor.

Though she was Virginia Beach's first directly elected Mayor, her role was primarily to serve as the chair during City Council meetings, of which she has been a member since 1976, and to officiate at a wide array of ceremonial functions. This is because Virginia Beach has a council-manager form of government.

In April 2007, Oberndorf was criticized by Fox News Channel commentator Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly claimed she mishandled a situation involving illegal immigrant Alfredo Ramos, who was accused and later convicted of causing a fatal drunk driving accident on March 30, 2007. O'Reilly said that Virginia Beach should have deported the immigrant once they realized he was in the country illegally, since he had prior alcohol-related convictions, including DUI and public drunkenness. However, Virginia Beach didn't learn of the immigrant's status until after the accident.

On November 5, 2008, Oberndorf was defeated by Will Sessoms, ending her two decade run as mayor. On December 10, 2008, before her term expired, the city council unanimously voted to rename the city's Central Library the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library.^[2] Since leaving her position as mayor, Oberndorf appeared in a series of commercials for ABNB Federal Credit Union in 2009. She was appointed to the Virginia State Library Board in 2009 by Gov. Tim Kaine.

Virginia Beach is the largest populated city in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

References

1. ^ "Official City of Virginia Beach Website" (in English) (HTML). City of Virginia Beach. http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=0e8d340df304c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f046b4d03baed010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default. Retrieved 2008-02-24. 
2. ^ "Central Library Renamed for Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf". City of Virginia Beach. December 10, 2008. http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=3525d64b9bd1e110VgnVCM100000190c640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0b81fd67f3ad9010VgnVCM100000870b640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default. Retrieved September 18, 2010. 

External links

• ABNB commercial

Political offices
Preceded by Robert G. Jones	Mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia 1988-2009	Succeeded by William D. Sessoms, Jr.
Preceded by Reba McClanan	Vice Mayor of Virginia Beach 1986–1988	Succeeded by Robert Fentress

Persondata
Name	Oberndorf, Meyera
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 10, 1941
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death