PORTSMOUTH — Two Portsmouth city leaders said they were fired within weeks before the city’s new permanent manager is set to take the reins.
Former Deputy City Manager Vernell Woods and an attorney now representing former Interim Director of Public Utilities Russell Stevens told The Virginian-Pilot Friday that they were recently terminated by outgoing Interim City Manager Lydia Pettis-Patton, who has been filling in over the last month until the city’s new manager, Steven Carter, formally assumes the position next week.
Carter was appointed to the position in March on a 4-3 vote. He has been serving as the city manager of Albany, Georgia, since 2021. The U.S. Air Force veteran has degrees in computer information systems and a master of business administration from Liberty University, according to his resume. Before his appointment as city manager, Carter served as the chief information officer for Albany and Dougherty County in southwestern Georgia.
Carter was sworn in Friday, with an official start date of Monday. Reached by phone Friday, Carter declined to comment on the personnel decisions.
When reached in person at City Hall Friday, Pettis-Patton said she had nothing to comment on as she walked away. Pettis-Patton assumed the short interim period through the Berkley Group, a consulting firm with offices across Virginia and North Carolina.
Woods began working for the city in August. He said he was hired as deputy city manager by the former interim city manager, Mimi Terry, who convinced him to make the move to Portsmouth after more than 30 years of city government experience in Norfolk and Newport News. He previously served as Norfolk’s deputy building code official and was the first African American elected president of the Virginia Building and Code Officials Association in 2011.
He was earning a salary of $170,000 at the time of his departure on March 25, and he will receive one month’s worth of severance, according to information provided to The Pilot by the city. Stevens said he was told by Pettis-Patton that she “had no place to put” him and that he was asked whether he wanted a demotion to work as an inspector.
“I felt real good coming to Portsmouth trying to help my city, and it just didn’t work out,” Woods said. He added that he wanted to use his experience to help modernize an antiquated workflow, particularly for the building permits and inspections department.
“I just hope that the city citizens look at what’s taking place in the city and really, really take heed to it and do their due diligence and homework and say, ‘Hey, who are we bringing in? What is the platform and stuff like that? And how can they help the city?'” he said.
Ari Stein, an attorney with the Bischoff and Martingayle law firm, said Stevens was terminated by a Human Resources leader via a directive from Pettis-Patton.
Stevens began his employment in the city in March 2021 and was promoted to interim director of the public utilities department during Terry’s time as interim. Stein said Stevens was returned to his position as assistant director of operations for public utilities in March before his termination April 10.
“Russell Stevens was, by all accounts, a dedicated and highly regarded employee of the city of Portsmouth,” Stevens said. “Unfortunately, he was unjustly terminated by the outgoing and interim city manager. We will be pursuing a grievance with the city of Portsmouth to rectify this injustice.”
Mayor Shannon Glover, who did not vote in support of Carter’s appointment or hiring the Berkley Group in the interim, said that the decisions are concerning because Pettis-Patton’s role was to keep things running before the new manager assumes his post, though he acknowledged she did have the authority to hire and fire as she saw fit.
“(I) would think the message and the strategy from an internal standpoint would be to kind of calm the nerves and fears of current employees,” Glover said. “Of course, I would expect that the new manager would, upon arrival, do his own assessment, and then determine what he wants his team to look like.”
Glover also said he’s hopeful the city can achieve some stability once Carter is settled into his new position.
“I’m hopeful that we can get some stability and get to a place where our employees feel very comfortable and excited about doing the work here and not having the fear of change coming from the top that will potentially put their job at risk,” Glover said.
Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke said Pettis-Patton had every right to fire anyone who didn’t have the credentials or that she didn’t see as fit for the job. Lucas-Burke said she didn’t have any concerns about Pettis-Patton’s decisions.
“I think she did what she needed to do to clean it up so that when Mr. Steven Carter comes, he can start with a clean, fresh, responsible, integrity, accountable slate,” Lucas-Burke said.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
