BY LUZ LAZO

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

HOPEWELL -- Brenda S. Pelham tonight became the first black woman chosen mayor of Hopewel.

Pelham, a Hopewell educator, won re-election to council in May unopposed. Tonight Hopewell City Council elected her mayor.

Every two years, the city's seven council members pick a mayor and a vice mayor from among themselves. Councilman N. Gregory Cuffey was elected vice mayor during the first meeting of the new council.

As vice mayor in the past two years, Pelham was often at odds with former Mayor Steven R. Taylor, who did not seek re-election this year.

Pelham and Cuffey often cast similar votes and have been allies in prominent issues in the city, including support of a controversial plan to bring an ethanol plant to Hopewell.

Two new members joined the council tonight: Gerald S. Stokes of Ward 4, who defeated one-term member Randy Sealey in the May elections, and K. Wayne Walton Sr. of Ward 5, who took Taylor's seat.

Walton, a longtime resident of Hopewell known for his interest in the Appomattox River, nominated Councilman Kenneth B. Emerson for mayor. But Walton ultimately voted in favor of Pelham after Emerson's nomination failed to get enough support.

Emerson and Councilman Curtis W. Harris were the only two members who did not support Pelham's bid for mayor. Harris said his vote was a statement against members who supported the plan for the ethanol plant.

Contact Luz Lazo at llazo@timesdispatch.com