Norfolk City Council chooses financial advisor to fill vacant council seat

Danica Royster was appointed by Norfolk City Council to represent Superward 7. (Handout)

Norfolk — Norfolk’s City Council has selected Danica Royster, a 31-year-old financial advisor from Lambert’s Point, to fill the open Superward 7 seat.

Royster said Tuesday that her priorities would include pushing for economic and community development for the superward, which encompasses much of Norfolk’s east side but also neighborhoods like Lambert’s Point and Park Place.

She also said public safety — both crime and traffic safety — would be focal points.

Royster is a 2012 Old Dominion University graduate and a “wealth consultant” at First Genesis of Virginia, a financial services firm based in Huntersville, which was started in 2016 by Royster and her father, Kenneth Royster.

The superward seat was vacated by Angelia Williams Graves, who earlier this month won a special election for the House of Delegates’ 90th District.

Graves, who had served on the council since 2010, is set to be sworn in as a delegate on Wednesday. She was not at Tuesday’s work session meeting, but joined later after the decision on her replacement had been announced.

The council interviewed three candidates during a livestreamed work session on Tuesday afternoon.

Today's Top Stories

Daily

Start your morning in-the-know with the day's top stories.

During the interview with council, Royster emphasized the need for the city to build up and enable the residents of Superward 7.

“I do believe there are opportunities in this city, and making sure those opportunities are equitable and accessible to all” would be a priority during her time on council, she said Tuesday. “I’d want to focus on attracting businesses to our community, which is marginalized. … It would start with investing in the people we have here.”

Besides Royster, the council also interviewed longtime local youth mentor Abdul Aswad and Vivian Paige, an accountant and university professor who had previously run for Norfolk treasurer back in 2005.

The city received applications from 15 residents asking to be considered for the seat.

Royster will occupy the council seat until May 2022, the next city council election. A special election will be held to fill the Superward 7 seat for the duration of the current term, which doesn’t end until 2024.

When asked, Royster said she hadn’t given any thought to whether she would run to finish out the term after her appointment was over.

Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com