BedfordNot a ballot

Voter guide · Nov 3, 2026

Bedford Town Council Election 2026

3 of 7 council seats are on the ballot, with 4 candidates running. Updated Oct 20, 2026. Every claim links to its source. How we check

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Nov 3Election Day

How to vote · 11 days left

Find where to voteCheck your registration
Deadline to apply for a mailed ballot (Oct 23): the election office's notice

These links go to official state and county election sites. Hours and rules differ by state; your election office has the final word.

The candidates

Listed alphabetically by last name. Every position links to its source.

All Town Council seats are at-large: voters choose up to three of the four candidates, and the top three vote-getters win.

Deadline to register or update registration · Oct 23

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Also on your Nov 3 ballot

We research city races only. For these races, go to the state's official guide or a nonpartisan one.

Official voter lookupState voter guideVote411 (League of Women Voters)

Districts come from 2020 Census blocks and the district maps for this election. Your address decides your districts.

Already on the council, not on the ballot

Whoever you elect will govern alongside these members.

Officeholders' pages compare what they've said with how they've voted, with sources.

What the next council decides

01Electric rates and the power-cost shortfall4 sourced facts

Where it standsBedford runs its own electric utility; the council raised electric rates in August 2025 and added a temporary $10 monthly surcharge in May 2026.

What's on the tableThe council will set future electric rates and decide whether to change the surcharge after reviewing the power cost adjustment.

02The budget and the end of reversion money5 sourced facts

Where it standsThe council adopted a $44.8 million FY2026-2027 budget in June 2026, and $750,000 a year the town has received because of its reversion to town status ends in 2028.

What's on the tableThe new council will write budgets that replace or absorb the lost reversion money and pay for the Municipal Building renovation.

03Housing, infill and short-term rentals3 sourced facts

Where it standsThe council adopted the Bedford 2045 Comprehensive Plan in April 2026 and has been deciding infill rezonings and homestay permits case by case.

What's on the tableThe council will rule on future rezonings and homestay permits and may set a general homestay policy.

04Longwood Avenue traffic2 sourced facts

Where it standsLongwood Avenue keeps its 25 mph limit, and the council approved restriping part of it to one lane each way with a center turn lane and bike lanes.

What's on the tableThe council will oversee the restriping and any further traffic changes on Longwood Avenue.

05Vacant buildings and downtown2 sourced facts

Where it standsThe council adopted a Vacant Building Registry Ordinance in May 2026 that charges fees to owners of buildings vacant for 12 months or more under set criteria.

What's on the tableThe council will oversee enforcement of the registry and other efforts to fill vacant downtown storefronts.

3 notes on these statements

Four candidates are running for three at-large seats, and Stacey L. Hailey is the only incumbent on the ballot. Virginia Department of Elections

Stacey L. Hailey, Ann E. DeLong, Timothy R. Brooke and Danny L. Kirby answered questions at a Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce candidate forum at Liberty Middle School. Bedford Bulletin · Sep 9, 2026

In May 2026 the Town Council appointed Ann E. DeLong to the Bedford Redevelopment and Housing Authority, for a term ending October 13, 2028. Bedford Town Council minutes, May 5, 2026 · May 5, 2026

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Who matches you?

Answer any of these questions. We compare your answers with each person's sourced record, and nothing is stored. Questions where no one has a sourced record yet are left out. Tap a selected answer again to skip it.

  1. 1. How should Bedford raise electric rates when power costs climb?

  2. 2. Should the council have adopted the $44.8 million FY2026-2027 budget?

  3. 3. Should the council have approved the 2026 request to rezone an R-1 lot to R-3 for two houses?

  4. 4. Should the council grant homestay permits in neighborhoods when the owner will not live on site?

  5. 5. Should Longwood Avenue be restriped to one lane each way with a center turn lane and bike lanes?

  6. 6. Should owners of long-vacant, derelict buildings have to register them and pay a fee?

Seat the councilSeat the Council →Pick a winner for each open seat and see where the resulting council stands on each issue.On the recordHow the council voted10 council decisions, each member's vote side by side, with a link to the minutes.

Key dates

The seat math

4 stay (not up this year): Dwight Evans, Todd Foreman, Dave Foster, Jai Ippolito3 on this ballot

7 council seats. The council decides by a 4-vote majority.

  • The Bedford Town Council has seven members, each elected for a four-year term, and a mayor and vice mayor are selected from among them. Town of Bedford
  • Bedford has a council-manager government: the council sets policy and appoints a professional town manager to run daily operations. Town of Bedford
  • The council meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month in the Council Chambers at 215 E. Main Street. Town of Bedford
  • All Town Council seats are at-large seats, so voters in this election vote for three candidates. Bedford Bulletin · Sep 30, 2026
  • The terms of Mayor C. G. Stanley, Vice Mayor Darryl A. Updike and Councilman Stacey Hailey expire in December 2026; the other four members' terms expire in December 2028. Town of Bedford
  • The mayor votes on council business in the roll call along with the other six members. Bedford Town Council minutes, August 18, 2026 · Aug 18, 2026

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