This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Petula Burks no longer works for the city of Richmond.
On Monday evening, Richmond Chief Administrative Office Lincoln Saunders sent an email announcing the city spokesperson’s departure.
Burks “has decided to pursue other opportunities and resigned,” Saunders wrote in a note forwarded to VPM News by Mayor Levar Stoney’s spokesperson. “We are grateful for all the incredible work she has done, from standing up a new Office of Strategic Communication and Civic Engagement from the ground up to helping our city embrace and celebrate its diverse culture. We wish her the best in her future endeavors. The City will begin a search for a new Strategic Communications Director immediately.”
The Richmond Times-Dispatch last week reported Burks’ city-issued credit card was disabled in 2023 over payment issues.
Burks, who began the city job in early 2022, used the card 130 times, spending more than $270,000 between January and July 2023, according to the paper. At the time, she told the RTD her job entailed setting up events quickly, which accounted for the card’s usage.
She was also named in a whistleblower lawsuit earlier this year, when a former employee alleged Burks directed her to withhold information from public records requests.
A call to Burks’ work cellphone went to voicemail Monday night.
