PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Another Portsmouth city official is off the job.
Interim Deputy City Manager Robert Moore resigned Tuesday, city spokesperson Dana Woodson and interim City Manager Mimi Terry said.
Woodson, nor Terry, shared a reason for Moore's departure.
Moore's resignation comes one week after Portsmouth City Council members fired former City Manager Angel Jones during a heated meeting.
Mark Yatrofsky said he is frustrated with the way Portsmouth city leaders fired Jones.
On May 24, in a 4 to 3 vote, Vice Mayor Deandre Barnes, Dr. Mark Whitaker, Chris Woodard and Paul Battle abruptly voted to fire Jones, with no warning to the public.
An attempt to hire former Portsmouth Police Chief Tonya Chapman as city manager, failed earlier this week.
“The people who are elected into office serve at the pleasure of the people, just as the city manager serves at the pleasure of the council," Yatrofsky said.
Now, Yatrofsky said he and a group of Portsmouth residents are working on petitions to recall Barnes and Whitaker. The seats held by Battle and Woodard are up for election in November.
“We are getting wording straight on the petitions, and we are getting the organizational issues ironed out," said Yatrofsky.
Portsmouth is no stranger to attempted recalls of elected officials.
Last June, a group filed to remove Senator L. Louise Lucas, citing what happened at the Portsmouth confederate monument in 2020.
That attempt failed, as did attempts to recall Mayor Kenny Wright in 2016.
Back in 2010, Portsmouth voters successfully recalled former mayor James Holley for a second time. He was also recalled in 1987, before returning to politics years later.
“It’s unprecedented," said Yatrofsky. "Because never before have we tried to recall two people at one time.”
In order to petition for a recall, Virginia law states 10% of the number of people who voted for that seat in the last election must ask for that elected official to step down.
Meanwhile, Councilman Bill Moody said he changed his mind about his political future. According to Moody, he will now run for re-election, citing recent events on city council.