VIENNA — The Vienna city government will no longer be split into wards for the purpose of electing aldermen after aldermen voted at the March 4 meeting to have all future board members elected as at-large representatives.

The change to the city government comes after more than a year of intermittent discussion about the structure. One of the common points city officials made in favor of the switch was that opening the positions to include anyone within the city limits could possibly attract more candidates in municipal elections.

Last year, one incumbent signed up for the municipal election. The other two positions were chosen through write-in votes. This year, one incumbent signed up for the municipal election. No candidates filed for Brenda Davis’ alderman seat.

Bill 24-01 Ordinance 232, which the aldermen unanimously passed to make the change, repeals two sections of the city’s codes relating to elections. The only difference between the two rules is the reference to odd or even-numbered years. The new language reads as follows:

“On the general election date in (odd/even) numbered years, an election shall be held by the qualified voters of the city of Vienna for two at-large aldermen who shall hold the office for four years and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. Any seat currently designated as ward representation and currently scheduled for election at the cessation of a four-year term shall be instead designated as an at-large position, and those terms shall be four-year terms. The election shall be scheduled at the time the current four-year term of serving aldermen comes to an end.”

The ordinance is effective immediately, so the first positions to change are those currently held by Brenda Davis and North Ward Alderman Rita Juergens, who is running unopposed in the April 2 election. South Ward Alderman Chuck Davis and North Ward Alderman Reva Hutchison began their terms last year, so their designations will change in 2027 when their terms end.

Several discussions about the change also included the idea of changing alderman terms from four years to two years to potentially attract more candidates. The current board dropped the idea from the ordinance at the February meeting after agreeing that they favored having aldermen serve four-year terms because of experience in the role and continuity in the board.