Lyndon Remias

Lyndon S. Remias(born 1967) is noted as the first Asian-American politician ever publicly elected to a School Board in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Remias broke this historical racial barrier when he was elected to the Virginia Beach School Board in May 2006. He is married and has two children.

Political Background

Lyndon Remias, a Filipino American, was elected to the [http://www.vbschools.com/schoolboard.asp Virginia Beach School Board] in May 2006 for his first term. [http://home.hamptonroads.com/elections/candidate.cfm?candidate_id=7] Remias defeated incumbent Lois Williams 19,396 to 15,363 to win the Princess Anne District Race. Although Williams was the incumbent a majority of the Virginia Beach School Board turned against Williams and supported Remias.

In May 2004 Remias unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the School Board. Remias finished 132 votes behind winner [http://www.vbschools.com/schoolboard/bellitto.asp Rita Sweet Bellitto] in his bid for an at-large seat on the Virginia Beach School Board. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116324430.html]

Because Bellitto's margin of victory was less than 1 percent of the combined votes cast for her and Remias, Virginia law allowed Remias to request a recount. Remias opted not to pursue a recount but vowed to mount a stronger campaign the next time he ran.

In May 2008 Remias resigned from the Virginia Beach School Board when he was appointed by the Virginia Beach City Council to become the City's first ever appointed City Auditor [http://hamptonroads.com/2008/04/beach-school-board-member-appointed-city-auditor] .

Education

Remias is a 1989 graduate of Old Dominion University in [http://www.norfolk.gov Norfolk, Virginia] . Remias received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting. Remias was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honor fraternity.

Professional Background

Remias is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). He has over 17 years of operational, financial, and governmental auditing experience. Currently, Remias is the City Auditor for the City of Virginia Beach, VA. [http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=b8ce340df304c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=c933f80cbed0e010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default]

Remias worked most recently with Amerigroup Corporation and Eastern Virginia Medical School where in 2003 he was appointed the first ever Internal Auditor for the Norfolk medical school. [http://www.evms.edu/about/news/07-25-03b.html] Remias started his career as a governmental auditor working in Richmond for the Auditor of Public Accounts.

Remias has been a long time leader in the auditing and accounting profession. Remias has served on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Internal Auditors [http://www.theiia.org] (IIA), an international organization which governs the internal audit profession. While on the Board he served on the Regional Directors committee overseeing 13 local chapters spread over four states. Remias was also a past President of the Tidewater Chapter of the IIA and the Mid Atlantic District Representative. Remias now serves as a volunteer instructor with the IIA.

Filipino-American Community

A strong showing by the 14,000-member Filipino-American community in Virginia Beach helped push Remias to victory. Remias became the third Filipino-American elected to a political office in Virginia Beach joining [http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=2edd340df304c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f046b4d03baed010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default Ron Villanueva] , Virginia Beach City Councilman and [http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=ee73340df304c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default Tina Sinnen,] Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk. While Remias was the first Filipino American elected to the Virginia Beach School Board Ferdie Tolentino was actually the first Filipino American to serve on the Board. Tolentino was appointed to the School Board when School Board members were appointed rather than elected. Remias is very active in the community and was the founding President of the [http://www.yfphr.org/ Young Filipino Americans of Hampton Roads.]

Virginia Beach City Public Schools

The [http://www.vbschools.com/ Virginia Beach City Public Schools] is one of the largest school systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia. VBCPS serves approximately 70,535 students in grades K-12. Currently, the school system includes 57 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, 11 high schools, and a number of secondary/post-secondary specialty centers.

References

* [http://hamptonroads.com/2008/04/beach-school-board-member-appointed-city-auditor Remias appointed City Auditor]
* [http://home.hamptonroads.com/elections/candidate.cfm?candidate_id=7 Election Results]
* [http://www.evms.edu/about/news/07-25-03b.html EVMS Article]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144397834.html Virginian Pilot Article 1]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116324430.html Virginian Pilot Article 2]

External links

* [http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=b8ce340df304c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=c933f80cbed0e010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default Official City of Virginia Beach webpage]