VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Beach City Council has appointed current Cincinnati City Manager Patrick Duhaney to be the next leader of the resort city.
The council unanimously approved the appointment in a special session Tuesday afternoon. Duhaney, 37, will start a two year contract on July 20 making $270,000 a year and a $750 a month car stipend.
Mayor Bobby Dyer said council was impressed with Duhaney’s energy, commitment to transparency and commitment to listening to the residents.
“Patrick, welcome to Virginia Beach,” Dyer said as council applauded. Duhaney was beamed in on video conference to council chambers.
Duhaney has led Cincinnati, which has a population smaller than that of Virginia Beach, since 2018.
He will replace Acting City Manager Tom Leahy, who announced plans to retire before former City Manager Dave Hansen resigned last August.
Like Hansen, Duhaney served in the U.S. Army. He served on active duty and in reserve capacity from 1999 to 2015 under combat engineer and ordnance commands according to the City of Cincinnati.
“I think I am going to treat Virginia Beach as it is my family,” Duhaney told the council. “I’m going to honor it and treat it with integrity and be open and as transparent as possible with my dealings so everyone gets a sense of how the city is operating. Again I am truly honored and humbled by this appointment and I will do anything I can to hold it up with grace and integrity.”
He was born in Jamaica and grew up in Queens, New York. He has a wife and a young son.
Duhaney will be only the 3rd permanent city manager Virginia Beach has had in the last 30 years and the first Black person to hold the position.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified when the appointment was voted on.
