Portsmouth’s former city manager is taking a high-ranking leadership role in Virginia Beach City Hall.
Ken Chandler will begin serving as deputy city manager July 7, replacing Cindy Curtis, who retired in April, according to a media release.
The city also announced acting-Deputy City Manager Tom Leahy, former head of the Public Utilities Department, will take the post permanently. Read about his appointment here. Both will earn $180,000 in salary, according to city spokeswoman, Julie Hill.
Chandler will oversee the departments of Human Services, Libraries, Parks and Recreation, Human Resources and Public Health, as well as the offices of organizational development and volunteer resources. His resume includes nearly three decades of experience in public leadership roles at places including Richmond, Portsmouth, Arlington County, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.
City Manager Dave Hansen praised Chandler in the announcement, calling him “a collaborator and consensus-builder.”
He “has a wealth of experience in the departments he will oversee, and he will provide valuable perspectives based on his work in other local governments,” Hansen said in the release. “Ken will help us use data more effectively in decision-making, facilitate the modernization of our legacy systems and processes and engage communities in problem solving.”
Chandler holds a doctorate of strategic leadership from Regent University, a master’s degree of public administration from Old Dominion University, and a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College. He is an International City Manager’s Association credentialed manager and is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Chandler resigned from his job as Portsmouth’s city manager in 2012 following a dispute with the City Council about salary paid to a former city employee, according to The Virginian-Pilot. He earned $174,194 in that role, which he had held since 2007, and received a severance package of $192,000, according to the paper.
