Virginia Beach council challenger concedes District 5 election to vice mayor

VIRGINIA BEACH — District 5 City Council candidate L.G. Shaw conceded the race Thursday night after observing election officials who were verifying votes this week.

"The opportunity closed on some of the remaining ballots being able to close the gap," Shaw wrote in a text.

He faced veteran council member Rosemary Wilson, who is currently leading by 1,029 votes. Wilson had 52%, or 10,898 votes, as of Friday, according to Department of Elections data, compared with Shaw's 9,869 votes, or about 47%.

Wilson has served on the City Council since 2000 and is currently vice mayor.

Shaw posted a concession video on social media Thursday night.

"We were waiting for a few more ballots to come through, get a tally on some of the provisional ballots," Shaw said in the video. "We won't have quite enough votes here on my side to take the win."