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Uhrin files injunction to prevent Nygaard from being seated

Former Virginia Beach city councilman John Uhrin claims David Nygaard lied about his residency in order to run for council in the Beach District.

It's another twist in the Virginia Beach city council election.

According to court documents, an injunction has been filed against a Virginia Beach City Council member that would keep him from voting.

Former councilman John Uhrin filed an injunction against David Nygaard to prevent him from keeping his seat.

The injunction also prevents Nygaard from taking part in the upcoming vote on the Dome Project as well as other votes.

The injunction is part of a lawsuit where Uhrin claims Nygaard lied about his residency to run for city council from the Beach District.

In a statement Uhrin wrote:

"As I've stated before, I received numerous calls from citizens regarding the residency of Mr. Nygaard immediately after the election. I agree with them that it is important to establish what the residency requirement really means. My hope is that the appropriate officials can review this matter quickly, and come to a determination as soon as possible."

Nygaard said Uhrin is attempting to disenfranchise voters. 

"It’s a sad day when a loser in an election can try to overturn it using unelected judges and try to overturn an election and disenfranchise voters in Virginia Beach," said Nygaard. 

Nygaard moved from the Lynnhaven District to the Beach District in June 2018. He said he confirmed he was legally allowed to run for City Council in the Beach District before running his campaign.

"I chose to run here because it is where I can most faithfully serve," explained Nygaard. "It's where my business has been centered, it's where my life has been centered on and off for the last 40 years."

Opponent RK Kowalewitch filed a previous complaint about Nygaard's residency. In October, Commonwealth's Attorney Ken Stolle said there is insufficient evidence to support the complaint and closed the case.

13NewsNow spoke with attorney Kevin Biniazian about why Uhrin would file a similar complaint if the Commonwealth Attorney closed the case.

"What the Commonwealth Attorney said is, 'It's not something that we want to get involved in,'" said Biniazian. "The courts didn’t necessarily give that a stamp of the courts to say 'This is final, this is done, everyone put this aside.'"

Biniazian explained if a court were to bar Nygaard from sitting on City Council, the next candidate with the most votes would take his seat. That candidate would be Uhrin.

In an initial statement, Nygaard said:

"It's unfortunate that my predecessor filed motions to disenfranchise and discriminate against nearly 50,000 voters and over 60,000 Beach residents in precincts he never visited during the campaign. The Beach District residents deserve representation when the largest project comes to a vote early January, known as the Dome site reported today. The Beach District faces urgent flooding, development and community challenges, which need to be immediately addressed by city council. 

"Officially today we have a new city council, following a historic election. Voters and election officials determined the winners and all seats should be treated equally. November 6, I was honored to win the election, certified November 13 and won the historic recount December 21st. The former councilman is asking unelected judges to do what he failed to on election day in an abuse of our legal system. 

If this injunction is granted and precedent is set, the general assembly will be in turmoil next year when similar methods can be employed by one party to take power after losing an election. Such a precedent would be a disaster for our democracy.”

Nygaard defeated Uhrin on Election Day by a little more than 200 votes. A lengthy recount process in December later upheld Nygaard's victory.

The new Virginia Beach city council session officially began on January 1, but their first meeting isn't scheduled until January 8.

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