Virginia Beach School Board candidate challenges opponent’s eligibility

A candidate for the Virginia Beach School Board’s District 3 seat is challenging the eligibility of his opponent, citing what he calls discrepancies in the signatures he was required to collect in order to be on the ballot.

A legal complaint filed by Mark Bohenstiel names his opponent, John Sutton III, along with the City of Virginia Beach, and the city’s Director of Elections and three Electoral Board members as co-defendants. Bohenstiel alleges that 14 of Sutton’s petition signatures are dated Feb. 4, 2024, while the witness’s signature is dated the prior day and that therefore his candidacy is invalid because he would not have reached the required 125 signatures.

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Presiding Circuit Court Judge Afshin Farashahi said he would rule on the matter this week so that it could be resolved prior to the ballots being officially printed.

Following the brief hearing, Sutton called the complaint “frivolous” and said it is an example of his opponent engaging in the “politics of personal destruction.”

“In my 18 years as a teacher and administrator, my integrity has never been questioned,” Sutton said in an interview.

Kaptan said after the hearing that the citizens of Virginia Beach deserve “qualified” candidates for school board. Asked if he was referring to whether Sutton was personally qualified or legally qualified, Kaptan said his words “speak for themselves.”

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com