Danica Royster is 2nd Norfolk City Council member to forego reelection bid

Norfolk Councilwoman Danica Royster is the second incumbent to announce this month that she will not be running to keep her seat on the dais next year.

Royster, who represents Superward 7, made the announcement Tuesday on Facebook. Royster said she’s taking a larger role in her family’s financial firm and made the decision after months of deliberation. The financial wealth manager said she hasn’t taken the opportunity to serve on council for granted.

“I just felt like it would be unfair to the residents of Norfolk, stakeholders and people I’ve interacted with if all of the sudden I wasn’t delivering and being able to approach the service work as I have been doing,” Royster said in an interview Thursday.

At 31, Royster was appointed to the council seat in January 2021 following the election of her predecessor, Angelia Williams Graves, to the House of Delegates. She fended off five opponents to retain the seat in November elections later that year.

Royster said she accomplished what she told voters she’d do if elected — objectives she crafted after hearing input from constituents after being appointed to the seat.

These accomplishments include bolstering violence and crime intervention efforts in the St. Paul’s corridor and nighttime basketball programming, establishing small business and nonprofit town halls with help from fellow City Councilwoman Mamie Johnson, collecting neighborhood input on the future of Poplar Halls, and organizing the Berkley Supermarket gift card giveaway, which is planned for Saturday.

Royster also serves as the co-chair of the St. Paul’s Advisory Committee and had previously overseen the St. Paul’s Redevelopment Advisory board.

She said she plans to return to volunteering in literacy tutoring of young students, which she did between 2013 and 2020, and will likely get involved with other service groups.

“Now, my focus is I still have ten more months left that I’m [on City Council] and I plan on finishing strong and continuing to do what I set out to do,” Royster said.

Superward 7 covers half the city, representing most of Norfolk’s east and south sides, but also parts of the military installations at Willoughby Bay. The median household income in the ward is almost $50,000 and a median home value is about $254,000.

Royster said she hopes whoever gets elected to the seat has intentions that are grounded in service and that they articulate to the voters their vision and plan for the city, what leadership means to them, and the qualities that make them best for the role.

Earlier this month, fellow Councilwoman Andria McClellan also announced she would not be seeking reelection to the Superward 6 seat. McClellan said she was making the decision to focus on her family.

Royster and McClellan both said they announced their plans not to seek reelection now so that new candidates have time to organize campaigns for the now open seats. This year’s city elections, held in November, include the mayor and superwards 6 and 7.

Ian Munro, 757-447-4097, ian.munro@virginiamedia.com