Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
PORTSMOUTH — City leaders have appointed an interim city attorney to take over in November due to Portsmouth City Attorney Lavonda Graham-Williams’ appointment as judge. Portsmouth City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Deputy City Attorney Derek Challenger in the interim beginning Nov. 7, with a salary of $192,500. Challenger was hired as an assistant city attorney in 2016, earning a base salary of $109,361 in 2022, according to employee salary info previously obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. A city attorney is one of several top positions appointed by council members to provide the city with legal counsel in civil and criminal litigation and draft ordinances, among other duties. Challenger earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Hampton University, as well as both a master’s degree in business and a law degree from University of Baltimore, according to his LinkedIn account. Earlier this year, Graham-Williams was appointed as a judge to Portsmouth Circuit Court beginning in January — a move she called the “pinnacle step” of her career. Council members took time at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting to thank and praise Graham-Williams for her time serving as city attorney. The Portsmouth native returned from Washington in 2022 to become city attorney and is credited as the first Black woman to permanently hold that role. “We’re losing a top-tier professional in this city, but we’re gaining an amazing human being that’s going to be a judge in our court system. And I think that’s the better deal,” said Mayor Shannon Glover at the meeting. Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
