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City of Chesapeake
Richard W. 'Rick' West
Mayor
Republican
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
75
/ 100
C
Raw: 6 of 8 dynamic max
· 4 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
2/ 70
🏛️ Local First
4/ 30
National Rank
#4,704 of 8,811 · bottom 46.6% among candidates with at least one scored answer
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Official Profile
Background: Dr. Richard Wayne 'Rick' West. Mayor of City of Chesapeake, VA since November 14, 2017 (initially appointed when prior mayor stepped down; won 2018 special election 57.81%, re-elected 2020 with 65.99%, re-elected November 5, 2024). Current term ends January 1, 2029. Public-school administrator in Chesapeake Public Schools for 20+ years (holds doctorate); served 10 years on Chesapeake City Council before becoming mayor. Born and raised in rural Chesapeake; father served U.S. Navy.
Mayor of Chesapeake, VA (R) since Nov 2017; re-elected Nov 5, 2024 (term to Jan 1, 2029). [2026-06 RESOLUTE LOCAL refinement — slug-collision RESOLVED batch-44 via disambiguate-rick-west.py (rick-west -> rick-west-chesapeake); OK State Rep keeps canonical slug]. HARD evidence: (a) presided over Dec 10 2019 unanimous Chesapeake City Council adoption of a 'Second Amendment Constitutional City' resolution and personally pledged 'we will not just tell you to go to Richmond, we will go to Richmond with you' to constituents opposing Northam-era state gun bills (self_defense q0/q1 TRUE); (b) issued Chesapeake's FIRST-EVER Pride Month proclamation in June 2024 from the dais ('I Richard West, Mayor of the City of Chesapeake, do hereby proclaim the month of June as PRIDE MONTH') (biblical_marriage q4 FALSE — R-DEVIATION); (c) FY25 budget held real-estate tax rate flat at $1.01/$100 and FY26 proposed rate increase was 'no longer being considered' after public pushback (economic_stewardship q2 TRUE on nominal rate; rising assessments yielded effective-rate growth but the rate itself was held). NO EVIDENCE on abortion, family/school, Christian liberty, election administration, COVID-mandate resistance, ESG, or immigration at the mayoral level — those cells null. Affirmative public 'Back the Blue' advocacy not located — public_justice q0 null (routine budget funding alone does not clear the rubric's high bar). Religion / church affiliation not publicly stated. Flag: August 2024 WHRO report that West asked city attorney to 'look into' a personal legal matter for his stepbrother (Georgia property dispute) drew an ethics-flag and a councilman's resignation call — noted as governance-conduct context, not a rubric-scoring event.
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)
FALSE (0)[1]
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
TRUE (+2)[2]
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
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate (city/council) opposes local-ordinance red-flag/magazine/AWB analogs + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
TRUE (+2)[4]
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
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
Not yet verified
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
Not yet verified
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
Not yet verified
Official has refused to enforce unconstitutional state directives
Not yet verified
Sources & Evidence
1 Lean Left1 Center1 Official4 Other
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
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]Mayor West personally issued Chesapeake's first-ever Pride Month proclamation, June 2024, from the dais at a city council meeting. Unclassified
Mayor West personally issued Chesapeake's first-ever Pride Month proclamation, June 2024, from the dais at a city council meeting.
- [2]FY25 budget held real-estate tax rate flat at $1.01/$100; FY26 proposed rate increase was withdrawn after public pushback. Unclassified
FY25 budget held real-estate tax rate flat at $1.01/$100; FY26 proposed rate increase was withdrawn after public pushback.
- [3]Presided over Dec 10 2019 unanimous Chesapeake City Council adoption of a Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' resolution; pledged 'we will not just tell you to go to Richmond, we will go to Richmond with you.' Unclassified
Presided over Dec 10 2019 unanimous Chesapeake City Council adoption of a Second Amendment 'Constitutional City' resolution; pledged 'we will not just tell you to go to Richmond, we will go to Richmond with you.'
- [4]Same 2019 2A-sanctuary resolution opposing Northam-era state red-flag / AWB / magazine-limit bills; mayor publicly led the local-control pushback. Unclassified
Same 2019 2A-sanctuary resolution opposing Northam-era state red-flag / AWB / magazine-limit bills; mayor publicly led the local-control pushback.
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