Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger will leave office nearly three months earlier than previously announced, the City of Manassas confirmed Friday.
In a news release issued Friday afternoon, the city said it has received Davis-Younger’s written resignation letter. She will vacate her seat effective Sept. 30, 2026, following her final City Council meeting on Sept. 28.
“Mayor Davis extends a sincere thank you to every resident who shared their ideas, concerns, and hopes for the community,” City Manager Steve Burke said in the release. “She also extends this thanks to her colleagues on City Council, the dedicated City staff, public safety personnel, volunteers, community organizations, and business leaders who work tirelessly to make Manassas such an extraordinary place to call home.”
The city said it will operate in accordance with the City Charter and state law during the transition and remains committed to a smooth handover of responsibilities while continuing daily services.
Davis-Younger originally announced on Feb. 9, 2026, during a City Council meeting that she would step down at the end of the year, two years before her term expires on Dec. 31, 2028. At the time, she cited a self-imposed eight-year limit on elected service.
She has not provided comment to Potomac Local on the decision to accelerate her departure. She previously discussed the original end-of-2026 timeline with other news organizations, including InsideNoVa and WTOP, framing it as fulfillment of a long-standing personal commitment rather than a withdrawal from public life.
Davis-Younger, a Democrat and Manassas native, was first elected to City Council in 2018, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the body. Voters elected her mayor in 2020, making her the city’s first Black woman, first woman, and first Democratic mayor. She won reelection in November 2024, defeating Republican Xiao-Yin “Tang” Byrom by nearly 15 percentage points.
The mayor’s seat is not on the ballot in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. No special election has been called to fill the remainder of Davis-Younger’s term, and no candidates have formally declared for the position. It is widely expected that City Council will appoint someone from its ranks to serve as interim mayor until a special election can be held to complete the term through 2028.
Three City Council seats are up this November. The seats are currently held by Republican Theresa Coates Ellis, who is seeking reelection, and Democrats Sonia Vásquez Luna and Ralph Smith, neither of whom is running again. Vásquez Luna is instead seeking the Democratic nomination for the open House of Delegates District 20 seat.
According to the Manassas & Manassas Park Cities Democratic Committee, the Democratic nominees for the three council seats are Jill Spall (current School Board chair), Dianne Lane, and Helen Zurita. Republican incumbent Theresa Coates Ellis is the sole GOP candidate on the ballot for the seats. Three independents have also qualified: Eugene “Doc” Brown, Colin Turner, and Lynn Forkell Greene.
The city said additional information on the transition process will be released as it becomes available.
