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Portsmouth City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton announced Friday she will retire at the end of the year.

Patton — the first woman to serve as Portsmouth’s city manager — has held the position since Sept. 1, 2015. She was hired with a unanimous vote by the Portsmouth City Council.

“Your tenure as Portsmouth City Manager has been a period of growth for our city, and you created the capacity for us to continue this growth into the future,” said Mayor John Rowe in the city’s news release. “We are sincerely appreciative of your enthusiasm for our community, and we have been the beneficiary of your passion for excellence. We will miss your leadership.”

Patton has had her share of controversy as city manager.

In 2019, she faced criticism and protests after the sudden and unexplained firing of Police Chief Tonya Chapman — Virginia’s first Black female city police chief.

The ouster caused a crowd at the next city council meeting to demand answers on why Chapman was fired and to criticize the decision.

Patton has worked as a public servant for more than 35 years with multiple leadership positions in Portsmouth. She helped lead the parks and recreation department from 1986-2002 and served as the city’s deputy manager from 2002-2008.

She previously worked at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

In the release announcing her plans to retire, the city credits Patton with achieving five major initiatives during her tenure as city manager in budgeting, economic development, organizational restructuring, zoning and technology.

The Portsmouth City Council has hired GovHRUSA, an executive level recruiting firm, to find a new city manager. Chesapeake and Virginia Beach have used the same firm.

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