ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Council has appointed Ms. Valmarie H. Turner as the new City Manager following a unanimous approval at their Dec. 2 meeting.
With more than 30 years of experience in local government, Turner most recently served as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Fairfax and has a history of involvement in community and economic development, social and human services programs, finance and procurement and public improvement projects.
City leaders introduced Turner during an afternoon news conference, where she was asked what attracted her to Roanoke.
“It was absolutely the charm; it was absolutely the people and also the opportunities here relative to some of the things that I know that we can do here, I happen to have some experience in,” Turner said. “It was an extremely good match.
Council Member Trish White-Boyd, who leads the council’s personnel committee, said Turner was the “clear choice” out of seven finalists for the position.
“She came to us with a plan. That was kind of different for an applicant,” White-Boyd said. “She came to us and said ‘this is what I’ve done. This is what I can do.‘ And when you bring those sort of tangibles to the table, it was just a very clear choice.”
Turner said some areas of focus will be affordable housing, homelessness and economic development. She said those issues are often related to crime.
“My position has always been that crime in a symptom of some things that we need to do in the community,” she said. “So that involves economic development because we need jobs. That involves education, because we definitely need education and training.”
Turner’s experience also includes Department Director in several local governments across Florida for more than a decade. Then in 2017, she was appointed Assistant/Deputy County Administrator for Loudon County. She also served as the Acting Director of the Department of Finance and Procurement.
She will succeed Bob Cowell, who announced his resignation in June. Dr. Lydia Pettis Patton, an executive manager with the Berkley Group, served as Interim City Manager following his departure.
This announcement comes after the Roanoke City Council conducted a nationwide search for a new city manager with help from the Berkley Group of Bridgewater.
“We were fortunate to have a very strong pool of qualified applicants and Ms. Turner rose to the top,” said Mayor Sherman Lea in a statement. “I am confident that she will work well with the new Mayor and Council to further improve the quality of life in Roanoke.”
Turner will officially step into her role as the new City Manager in mid-January.
