VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Guy Tower has been picked to fill the vacant Beach District seat on Virginia Beach City Council. 

“I’m delighted, I am really excited,” said Guy Tower, 77, following his unamous appointment. “Didn’t have to call anyone to ask for money. I was lucky.”  

Tower was appointed Tuesday evening to serve the position vacated in March by David Nygaard. Nygaard was removed from the seat after a three-judge panel ruled he failed to meet residency requirements when he ran for the seat back in November. 

There is no issue for Tower there, having lived in the Beach District for several years. 

“I hope I will be able to use my skills to bring people together,” Tower said.

Tower, a retired attorney, mediator, educator and association executive, will serve until either December 31, 2019, or until the winner of the upcoming special election for the seat is certified. 

He announced when he applied he would not run for the seat himself. 

“I think because I am not affiliated with any of the two previous candidates, that is what previously drove me to it,” Tower said refering to Nygaard and former council member John Uhrin. 

Uhrin held the Beach District seat for 12 years, before losing the seat to Nygaard by less than 200 votes in November 2018. While Uhrin was successful in having Nygaard removed from office, at the last minute, he withdrew his name from the list of appointee finalists.

“This legal action, combined with a recount brought on by the closest race in our city’s history and the normal exertion that is a part of any election process, has left me drained and currently lacking in the patience, stamina, and time commitment that I know is necessary to serve as a member of council, especially the challenges of the Beach District,” Uhrin wrote in a letter to the Mayor Friday. 

Megin Kennett, a Client Solutions Executive with AT&T also withdraw from the process Tuesday afternoon citing a pontial conflict of interest. 

The remaining finalists included Tower, former Councilwoman Louisa Strayhorn and Leah Davenport.