Norfolk, Virginia
| Norfolk, Virginia | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Norfolk
Kenny Alexander | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2020 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Last city council election: | 2024 |
| Next city council election: | 2026 |
| City council seats: | 8[1] |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 244,601 |
| Race: | White 47.0% African American 41.1% Asian 3.7% Native American 0.4% Pacific Islander 0.1% Two or more 4.7% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 8.0% |
| Median household income: | $51,590 |
| High school graduation rate: | 88.0% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.8% |
| Related Norfolk offices | |
| Virginia Congressional Delegation Virginia State Legislature Virginia state executive offices | |
Norfolk is an independent city located in Virginia. It is considered a county equivalent. The city's population was 238,005 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Norfolk utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council, which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body, appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the city council's policy and legislative initiatives.[2]
Mayor
The mayor is a member of the city council and serves a four-year term. He or she presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[3] The current Mayor of Norfolk is Kenny Alexander (nonpartisan). Alexander assumed office in 2016.
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, and appointing departmental directors and other senior-level positions.[4]
City council
The Norfolk City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[2]
The city council is made up of eight members. While the mayor is elected at large, the other seven members are elected by the city's seven wards.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
Norfolk has a Democratic mayor. As of November 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was June 18, 2024.
2022
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held general elections for city council on November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was June 21, 2022.
2021
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held general elections for commissioner of revenue, commonwealth's attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for June 8, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was March 25, 2021, and the filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates was August 13, 2021.
A special election for the Superward 7 seat of the city council was held on November 2, 2021. The filing deadline for city council candidates was June 8, 2021.
2020
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and city council superwards 6 and 7 on May 19, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was March 3, 2020.
This election was originally scheduled on May 5, 2020. On April 24, 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced the postponement of elections scheduled on May 5, 2020, to May 19 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. This announcement came after the Virginia State Senate rejected a proposal to delay local elections until November 2020.[5][6]
2018
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held general elections for city council on May 1, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was March 6, 2018.
2017
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held elections for commissioner of revenue, commonwealth attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in the primary was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for independent candidates was June 13, 2017.
2016
The city of Norfolk, Virginia, held elections for mayor and city council on May 3, 2016. Two of the eight city council seats were up for election.[7]
2014
The city of Norfolk, Virginia held elections for mayor and city council on May 6, 2014. Five of the city council's seven wards were up for election.[8]
Incumbent Mayor Paul Fraim ran for re-election and won. He was first appointed Mayor in 1994. Four of five possible council incumbents also ran for re-election and won. Two incumbents, Andrew Protogyrou and Theresa W. Whibley, ran unopposed. The open Ward 3 seat was vacated by Alveta V. Green.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Norfolk | |
|---|---|
| Norfolk | |
| Population | 238,005 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 53 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 44.8% |
| Black/African American | 40.7% |
| Asian | 3.8% |
| Native American | 0.4% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% |
| Two or more | 6.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 8.7% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 89.3% |
| College graduation rate | 32.2% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $60,998 |
| Persons below poverty level | 12.3% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 through June 30 of the next year. The city charter gives responsibility for drafting a budget to the city manager, who submits the budget draft to the city council no later than 60 days before the end of the fiscal year. After the city manager presents the budget, a hearing is held to allow for public input in the budget process. The city council must approve a final budget no later than 30 days before the end of the current fiscal year.[9]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[10]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[11] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[12] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[10]
Norfolk, Virginia, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
810 Union Street, Suite 1001
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-664-4679
City Clerk's office
810 Union Street, Suite 1006
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-664-4253
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Norfolk, Virginia ballot measures
Norfolk is an independent city in Virginia. A list of ballot measures in Norfolk is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Norfolk, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Norfolk, Virginia, began on Friday, May 29, 2020, at Martin Luther King Jr. Monument Park.[13] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Norfolk, Virginia, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[14]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of Norfolk, "Government," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Norfolk, "Council Membership," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Norfolk, "City Manager," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ InsideNova, “Northam moves local elections to May 19,” April 24, 2020
- ↑ The City of Norfolk, “Office of Elections,” accessed April 28, 2020
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Media Calendar 2013-2017," accessed September 30, 2015
- ↑ City of Norfolk, "Office of Elections" accessed February 21, 2014
- ↑ City of Norfolk, "Fiscal Year 2024 Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ WRIC, "Protesters shut down I-64 in Hampton in response to George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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