[Archived] City Council Announces Intent to Appoint Ignacio Pessoa As Alexandria City Attorney


News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:	Friday, June 23, 2000
Contact:	Angelita Plemmer, City Manager's Office, (703) 838-4300

City Council Announces Intent to Appoint Ignacio Pessoa As Alexandria City Attorney

The Alexandria City Council has agreed on the selection of a new City Attorney. Mayor Kerry Donley said today that City Council intends to appoint Ignacio B. Pessoa, who is now Acting City Attorney, to the City’s top legal post at Council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 27.

“Ignacio Pessoa has worked for the City of Alexandria for 14 years, serving as an attorney and advisor to City Council and many City offices,” Donley said. “His knowledge of City government, and especially his work with the Department of Planning and Zoning and the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, helped to make him the best candidate for this job.”

Pessoa began his work in the City Attorney’s office in 1986. Other City departments he has served
include Code Enforcement, Historic Alexandria, the Registrar of Voters, and the Elections Administrator. In his work with the Department of Planning and Zoning, he also advised the Planning Commission, the Boards of Architectural Review (which consider proposed changes to exterior architectural features of the buildings in the City’s two historic districts), and the Board of Zoning Appeals. He has also represented the City in litigation involving land use, civil rights, and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as personal injury claims.

“I am deeply honored by this appointment, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Alexandria City Council and citizens, as well as the City Manager and his staff, in this new capacity,” Pessoa said.

As City Attorney, Pessoa will oversee a staff of 13, including 6 other attorneys and the City’s Risk Management Office.

Pessoa was selected from a pool of approximately 40 applicants following a search that began shortly after Philip Sunderland, the previous City Attorney, was named City Manager in February.

Pessoa, who is 48, graduated from George Mason University School of Law, with distinction, in 1982. He is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia Bars, as well as the American Bar Association. Prior to his work with the City, he was in private practice in Arlington. He has lived in Alexandria since 1982 with his wife, Anne McGurk, a local artist. His appointment will be effective July 1, and he will receive a salary of $110,000.