Juandiego Wade will serve as the president of Charlottesville City Council for another two years after being selected unanimously by his colleagues.
“The person elected to serve as Mayor will preside over City Council meetings, may call special meetings, make some appointments to advisory boards, and serves as the head of government for ceremonial purposes and official functions,” said City Manager Sam Sanders at Council’s organizational meeting today.
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City Council elects a mayor and vice chair for a two-year period. Wade was re-elected to a second four-year Council term in November along with newcomer Jen Fleisher.
Councilors were asked if they had any nominations for someone to serve as presiding officer. City Councilor Natalie Oschrin made a motion to nominate Wade to be mayor and Councilor Lloyd Snook seconded.
City Councilor Michael Payne had another suggestion.
“Together with [Councilor Lloyd Snook] having been here the longest, I suspect a decision has always been made, but for the purposes of discussion I would nominate myself,” Payne said.
No one seconded Payne’s nomination so there was no further discussion.
When the vote was called, Payne ended up voting for Wade.
“I appreciate the confidence of my colleagues to continue on,” Wade said. “Over the last two year, I believe that with all of us, we have moved the city forward and I look forward to serving the city, representing the Council.”
Wade said he will have more time to devote to the role now that he has retired from his position working for Albemarle County.
Next it came time to select the vice mayor.
“The Vice Mayor substitutes whenever the Mayor is not available,” Sanders said.
Wade nominated Oschrin as Vice Mayor and Councilor Lloyd Snook seconded.
There were no other nominees for Vice Mayor.
“I feel like over the last two years, I’ve developed a really partnership with the folks up here and several key leaders in city staff and I am looking forward to not just moving Charlottesville forward but moving Charlottesville in different ways,” Oschrin said.
As one of their first actions of 2026, City Council has reappointed three members of the Board of Architectural Review. They are:
- Cheri A. Lewis, Business owner/commercial property in an ADC District, HC District or IPP
- Katherine Snider Tabony, Licensed Architect
- Dave Timmerman, Licensed Architect
Another slot for a licensed architect remains vacant. The term of Jennifer Lauer expired on December 31, 2025.
Before you go: Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the January 5, 2026 of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can pay for a subscription through Substack, make a monthly contribution through Patreon, or consider becoming a sponsor. That last one is still in the works do drop me a line!
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