Making history: Roanoke voters elect 3 gay members, first Latina to council – WSLS 10
ROANOKE, Va. – History is in the making in Roanoke City. A diverse community is now expected to be represented in Roanoke City Hall.
On Tuesday night, Roanoke city voters favored Joe Cobb, Luke Priddy, and Peter Volosin for City Council. All three are proudly and openly gay. Once the results are finalized, the three will be making history.
“It’s really awesome to be a part of that. As a gay man, it’s hard to explain, but when you go other places, they don’t necessarily think of Roanoke as a gay haven,” said Volosin. “And now we have probably the same amount of city councilors as Palm Springs, [California,] which is one of the gay havens,” said Volosin.
“It really does make history in Virginia, but it wasn’t a first thought while I was running. I’m not sure it was a reason why people voted for me or will necessarily change how I serve the people,” said Priddy. “It will lead to some policy differences, though.”
Cobb, who is no stranger to city council, said the projected results set an example for the rest of the Commonwealth.
“It’s extraordinary because I think all of us were elected for the different gifts and skills we bring to leadership in the city. And I think those other ways in which we are identified or in which we identify, are part of our story. And it’s also part of Roanoke’s story,” said Cobb.
Councilwoman-elect Vivian Sanchez-Jones, who was originally appointed to fill a vacant council seat in 2020, will also make history once the vote count is finalized. She will be the first elected Latina member of the Roanoke City Council.
“I’m not just here for Latinas, I’m here for everybody in the community,” said Sanchez-Jones. “We have a very diverse community in our city, about 105 different languages and cultures represented,” said Sanchez-Jones.
She’s will also be the first naturalized citizen to hold office in the city. Sanchez-Jones moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was 14 years old.
“It’s huge. I just feel like this will open the door for others like me to want to aspire to be in office,” said Sanchez-Jones.
The Virginia Department of Elections was still working on counting provisional ballots on Wednesday evening. You can see the latest updates and results once they are finalized in this article.