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City of Chesapeake
S.Z. 'Debbie' Ritter
Vice Mayor / City Council (At-Large)
Republican
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
100
/ 100
A
Raw: 12 of 12 dynamic max
· 6 of 30 answered
Local tier30 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · scorecard-level timestamp
✝ God First
6/ 70
🏛️ Local First
6/ 30
National Rank
#4,622 of 8,776 · bottom 47.3% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →Contact This Official
Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.
Official Profile
Education: B.S., University of Connecticut
Background: Born Newport, RI (Navy family); moved to Hampton Roads 1977 via Navy orders, settled in Great Bridge with retired-Navy husband Ron. Member, Central Chesapeake Republican Women's Club. Chaired DoD Joint Land Use Study on NAS Oceana/Fentress (2005); past president, Women's Division of Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Chesapeake; Executive Board, Virginia Coalition of High Growth Localities; Governor-appointed Opioid Abatement Authority (2025-). First elected May 1998; reelected Nov 5, 2024; appointed Vice Mayor 8-1 on Sept 24, 2025, replacing the late John de Triquet. Current term ends Dec 31, 2028.
Vice Mayor. Term expires 2028.
[2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement] Roster verified: Vice Mayor of Chesapeake, appointed 8-1 on Sept 24, 2025 to replace late John de Triquet; first elected 1998 (27+ years); current term ends Dec 31, 2028. HARD evidence: (1) signature campaign claim — 'ONLY Southside city with NO real-estate tax rate increase in over 20 years' — corroborated by unanimous FY26 $1.7B budget adopted with NO rate hike (kept at $1.01/$100); publicly raised concerns about 'duplication of efforts' in Human Services grant spending — economic_stewardship q2 TRUE; (2) explicit campaign-stated 'no higher priority than a safe City'; advocated repeal of state laws constraining police authority to confiscate illegal guns/drugs; supported new LE/first-responder pay plan, new training academy with compressed phasing, and new fire/police stations — public_justice q0 TRUE (affirmative advocacy bar met); same record + anti-soft-on-crime stance via repeal of LE-restricting state laws — public_justice q1 TRUE; (3) advocacy for repealing state laws that 'tie the hands of law enforcement' = local-control assertion against state preemption — refuse_state_overreach q0 TRUE; serves on Executive Board of Virginia Coalition of High Growth Localities — refuse_state_overreach q3 TRUE (subsidiarity / local-control institutional posture); (4) sitting council member during unanimous Dec 10, 2019 council declaration of Chesapeake as Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' (vote was unanimous and Ritter was on council) — self_defense q1 TRUE. NO EVIDENCE on sanctity_of_life, biblical_marriage (Mayor West's 2024 Pride proclamation was mayoral, not a council vote — left null), family_child_sovereignty (school issues are handled by separate elected school board), christian_liberty (no personal invocation/policy quote located), election_integrity, refuse_state_overreach q1/q2/q4 (no specific COVID/ESG votes located), border_immigration (Ritter's individual vote on 2017 8-1 sanctuary-substitute and 2024 6-3 ward-referendum not confirmed from retrieved sources), self_defense q0 (no statement on constitutional carry). No church/religion publicly identified.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
Not yet verified
Candidate (if District Attorney) has committed to prosecuting illegal abortion procedures; (if mayor/council) has supported pro-life city resolutions or refused to declare 'sanctuary city for abortion'
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes embryonic stem-cell research, IVF embryo discard, and chimeric experimentation
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and quality-of-life rationing
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has never accepted Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY's List, or abortion-industry PAC funding
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes all forms of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in law
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes city/county trans-affirming policies (bathroom mandates on private businesses, Pride flag raisings at city hall, pronouns-required HR rules)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports no-fault divorce reform and policies that strengthen the marriage covenant
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes city/county Pride proclamations, Pride flags at city facilities, drag programming in libraries, and LGBT-affirming K-12 curriculum (school-board-relevant)
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) opts the district into school-choice transfers + protects homeschool freedom + opposes truancy-based criminal referrals
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) requires parental notification before any gender/sexuality counseling of minors; (mayor/council) opposes city programs facilitating minor medical procedures without parents
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) has voted to remove CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology materials from district curriculum and library shelves
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council/library board) supports local enforcement of age-verification + removes sexualized content from library children's sections
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports faith-based adoption/foster agencies and opposes placement of children with same-sex couples
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports conscience exemptions for Christian medical professionals, business owners, adoption agencies, and educators
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city/county/school board) opposes mandatory pronoun policies for staff + employees + students
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council) supports city/county Christian displays (Ten Commandments, Nativity scenes), invocation prayer at meetings, Sunday-closure where chosen by community
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes city-funded non-Christian religious displays/programming (Ramadan illumination, etc.) at city facilities
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) opposes city participation in CBDC pilot programs + supports cash-acceptance ordinances for local businesses
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (mayor/council) has voted against deficit-bond issuances for non-capital city expenditures + supports balanced city budgets without service cuts via tax increases on residents
Candidate supports usury limits, anti-debt-slavery protections, and tithe-friendly tax structures
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city/county) has voted to remove city pension/treasury investment in ESG-aligned funds + opposes city participation in WEF-aligned sister-city programs
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city clerk/county election official) supports hand-counted paper ballots at local precincts where state law permits
Not yet verified
Candidate (city clerk/election official) enforces state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at local precincts
Not yet verified
Candidate supports single-day in-person voting with absentee only for verified medical/military exceptions
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes mass mail-in voting, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city clerk/council) refused acceptance of private election-administration grants ('Zuckerbucks')
Not yet verified
Candidate supports completed physical border barrier and active military border presence
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (DA/sheriff) cooperates with ICE detainers + transfers; (mayor/council) supports local cooperation with ICE rather than sanctuary policies
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) has voted against local sanctuary-city ordinances + supports city cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
Not yet verified
Candidate supports mandatory E-Verify for all employment and benefit eligibility
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, tourist births, and opposes foreign ownership of U.S. farmland
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (mayor/council) opposes local gun-registry ordinances + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/council) opposes local-ordinance red-flag/magazine/AWB analogs + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Candidate supports repeal of the National Firearms Act (NFA), Gun Control Act (GCA), and other federal gun regulations
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws with full civil immunity for lawful defense
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes ATF overreach, citizen disarmament initiatives, and U.N. small-arms treaty participation
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
TRUE (+2)[1]
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
TRUE (+2)[1]
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
Not yet verified
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
Not yet verified
Official has asserted local control against unconstitutional state mandates
TRUE (+2)[1]
Official has declined state strings that compel ungodly or unconstitutional local policy
Not yet verified
Official has protected local citizens from state overreach (lockdowns, mandates, ESG)
Not yet verified
Official affirms subsidiarity — decisions made at the lowest competent level
TRUE (+2)[5]
Official has refused to enforce unconstitutional state directives
Not yet verified
Sources & Evidence
1 Center2 Official5 Other
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
ritter2024.com/Unclassified
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]Signature campaign claim of NO real-estate tax rate increase in 20+ years; voted with unanimous FY26 $1.7B budget that kept the rate flat at $1.01/$100; publicly raised concerns about 'duplication of efforts' in Human Services grant spending during budget deliberations. Unclassified
Signature campaign claim of NO real-estate tax rate increase in 20+ years; voted with unanimous FY26 $1.7B budget that kept the rate flat at $1.01/$100; publicly raised concerns about 'duplication of efforts' in Human Services grant spending during budget deliberations.
- [2]Signature campaign claim of NO real-estate tax rate increase in 20+ years; voted with unanimous FY26 $1.7B budget that kept the rate flat at $1.01/$100; publicly raised concerns about 'duplication of efforts' in Human Services grant spending during budget deliberations. Unclassified
Signature campaign claim of NO real-estate tax rate increase in 20+ years; voted with unanimous FY26 $1.7B budget that kept the rate flat at $1.01/$100; publicly raised concerns about 'duplication of efforts' in Human Services grant spending during budget deliberations.
- [3]Sitting council member during the Dec 10, 2019 UNANIMOUS council vote declaring Chesapeake a Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' — explicit pro-2A posture opposing state-imposed gun restrictions. Unclassified
Sitting council member during the Dec 10, 2019 UNANIMOUS council vote declaring Chesapeake a Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' — explicit pro-2A posture opposing state-imposed gun restrictions.
- [4]Sitting council member during the Dec 10, 2019 UNANIMOUS council vote declaring Chesapeake a Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' — explicit pro-2A posture opposing state-imposed gun restrictions. Unclassified
Sitting council member during the Dec 10, 2019 UNANIMOUS council vote declaring Chesapeake a Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' — explicit pro-2A posture opposing state-imposed gun restrictions.
- [5]Serves on the Executive Board of the Virginia Coalition of High Growth Localities — institutional local-control / subsidiarity advocacy posture. Center
Serves on the Executive Board of the Virginia Coalition of High Growth Localities — institutional local-control / subsidiarity advocacy posture.
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