Leah W. Puryear

Leah Puryear
City's official photo, 2023
Councilor Charlottesville City Council (2022-2023)
Electoral District	Appointed by the city council
Term Start	February 21, 2023
Term End	December 31, 2023
Preceded by	Sena Magill (D)
Member Charlottesville City School Board
Electoral District	At-large
Term Start	2006
Term End	2017
Succeeded by	Dom Morse (D)
Biographical Information
Children	2
Residence	Greenbrier neighborhood
Alma mater	M.A., University of the District of Columbia (UDC) B.A., Hampton Institute
Profession	Public Colleges - Professors/Staff, Education Administration University of Virginia
Religion	Episcopal
Campaign $	VPAP
Contributions $	VPAP

Leah W. Puryear was appointed to the Charlottesville City Council on February 21, 2023 to fill the vacant seat left by the resignation of Sena Magill. Puryear will hold the office until it expires on December 31, 2023.

Puryear was elected to four terms on the Charlottesville School Board and won the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Award for 2021.

Biography

In January 2023, Puryear applied to fill the City Council seat left vacant by Sena Magill's resignation -- Mayor Lloyd Snook announced the council would appoint Magill's successor, likely sometime in February 2023, to hold the office until it expires at the end of the year.

A former administrator of Upward Bound at the University of Virginia, she directed the planning and implementation of a federally-funded college preparation program for historically underrepresented high school student groups.

Puryear was inducted into the Burley Varsity Club in 2017.

Charlottesville School Board

Puryear ran unopposed for another term in the 2013 election. She also ran unopposed in 2017.

Puryear ran for a 5th term on the Charlottesville School Board in 2021 but placed fourth and was not re-elected. The race was contested with four candidates seeking three positions. Puryear's last Board meeting was on December 2, 2021.

2021 election

City Council Election Results

Candidates	Votes	%
Juandiego Wade (D)	11,730	42.51
Brian Pinkston (D)	10,161	36.82
Yasmine Washington (I)	3,482	12.62
Nikuyah Walker (I)	1,928	6.99
Write-In	292	1.06
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections

Voters could cast two votes, one for each of the two seats available, hence the percentages do not total 100%. Walker withdrew from the race but was still listed on the ballot

2017 election

Candidates	Votes	%
Lisa Larson-Torres	10,048	33.73
Juandiego R. Wade	9,846	33.05
Leah W. Puryear	9,556	32.08
Write-In	339	1.14
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Each voter could vote for up to three candidates.

2013 election for School Board

Candidates	Votes	%
Ned Michie (I)	7,436	33.66
Leah Puryear (I)	7,357	33.31
Juandiego Wade (I)	7,136	32.31
Write-In	160	.72
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections

Each voter could vote for up to two candidates.

Candidate Profile Resources
Candidate	Leah W. Puryear
Office	Charlottesville School Board
Election year	2013 election
Candidate interviews by Charlottesville Tomorrow
Candidate interview transcript
Candidate interview audio <mp3player>http://www.cvillepedia.org/mediawiki/images/20130923-Puryear-Interview.MP3</mp3player> Source website

2009 election for School Board

Candidates	Votes	%
Edmund R. "Ned" Michie	6,027	Unknown
Leah W. Puryear	5,562	Unknown
Juandiego R. Wade	5,500	Unknown
Write-In	571	Unknown
Source: City of Charlottesville

Overall voter turnout for City of Charlottesville in this election was 37.31%. Each voter could vote for up to three candidates.

2006 election for School Board

Candidates	Votes	%
Edmund R. "Ned" Michie	3,101	24.87
Leah W. Puryear	2,426	19.45
Juandiego R. Wade	2,370	19.01
Susan W. "Sue" Lewis	2,077	16.66
Charles W. Kollmansperger	1,695	13.59
Vance D. High	760	6.09
Write-In	41	0.33
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections

Voters could cast three votes, one for each of the three seats available, hence the percentages do not total 100%.