VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — One day after Virginia Beach announced the hiring of its first black city manager, Patrick Duhaney, we are getting to know the man.
Duhaney is currently the city manager in Cincinnati, Ohio, but spoke with local reporters Wednesday via video chat.
When asked about taking on this role as the first black man in the position he told WAVY.com, he wants to set the bar.
“Extra pressure, yeah, I feel extra pressure to make sure that I do the job with integrity and honesty and set a good path and trailblaze a path for those who may follow in my shoes,” he said.
One of Duhaney’s first tasks will be to hire a new police chief during this time of civil unrest and police scrutiny.
“We have to evaluate our police departments. We have to evaluate our policing procedures to ensure that we are doing it in a way that the community supports and is on board with in terms of how we police them,” he said.
He also faces certain economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. All of this, while entering a community still healing from the tragedy of May 31st, 2019.
“I feel I have the emotional intelligence to kind of help work with the city and the employees to navigate the situation and a lot of that comes from the fact that I’m a combat veteran,” he said.
His predecessor, Dave Hansen, resigned in August among criticism of his response to the mass shooting. Hansen was also accused of favoritism with a local developer.
“I’m only worth my integrity. ” Duhaney said. “The moment I give up my integrity, the moment I lose credibility with the media, my bosses — the mayor and council — the staff that I lead and the community that I represent. So, you know I will never ever put myself in a position where I would do anything that is perceived as improper, unethical.”
Duhaney’s development philosophy: Give as little money as possible for a project to move forward and that project must create living wage jobs and improve the quality of life for residents and tourists.
“Transparency to me is how you maintain your credibility. You know, a lot of times we can say we do things, but unless people can actually see how the sausage is made they don’t necessarily buy into it.”
He is setting out to be trailblazer — but don’t expect him to come in on fire.
“I want to spend a lot of time listening, you know, because I’m not from Virginia Beach. I got a skill set as it relates to a professional manager but I need to get a sense of the tone that drives Virginia Beach.”
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old millennial is excited about living near the water again. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, he felt the ocean calling. He’s currently researching neighborhoods for a new place his growing family will call home. He has a 6-year-old son who has autism and another baby on the way. His wife is due in July.
“There’s a lot of moving parts so we’re having fun with it. We’re going to be stressed, we’re going to fight a little bit, but you know, we’ll navigate it. We’ve been through a lot together,” he said.
Duhaney’s first day on the job will July 20.
