VIRGINIA BEACH — David “Hutch” Hutcheson declared victory Tuesday night in the race for Virginia Beach City Council District 1 with an advantage of about 350 votes over his closest opponent.

Voters in the district along the western edge of the city headed to the polls to chose a new representative in a special election Tuesday.

As of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hutcheson was in the lead with 1,985 votes, according to unofficial election results posted on the Virginia Department of Elections website.

Hutcheson declared victory at 8:30 p.m. John Napier, 43, his closest opponent, conceded at 8:40 p.m. Napier, a business/real estate lawyer and mediator, had 1,626 votes. The results didn’t yet include provisional ballots.

“We feel comfortable with the number,” said Hutcheson, a retired Virginia Beach fire chief.

Hutcheson, 57, also faced Teresa Gladney, 59. She had 574 votes as of Tuesday night.

Only residents of the district voted in the special election. District 1 includes portions of Kempsville, Bellamy Manor and Lake Christopher. It has 35,349 registered voters, and almost 12% of the district’s registered voters turned out for Tuesday’s election, according to the state department of elections.

Former Councilman Rocky Holcomb resigned from the seat Sept. 29 to become sheriff. Longtime Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle had announced his retirement last year and tapped Holcomb, the chief deputy, as his replacement.

Affordable housing needs, redevelopment projects and speeding issues in the suburban neighborhoods have been among hot topics in District 1.

Hutcheson worked in the fire department for 35 years and led a team through two significant events in Virginia Beach: A Navy jet crash and a mass shooting at the municipal center. Among his qualifications was running a tight budget, he said.

“Now we finally get to get down to what we were doing this for,” Hutcheson said. “The whole reason I was doing this was to get to the table and make a difference for Virginia Beach.”

The District 1 term expires Dec. 31. Council members decided to hold a special election instead of appointing an interim member given the amount of time left to serve.

The cost for the special election will be about $185,000, according to the city.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com