Daun Sessoms Hester (born October 7, 1955) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. She served on the

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

1996–2010, and was

vice mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

2004–08.

Early life, education, family

Hester was born in Norfolk and grew up in the Five Points neighborhood, graduating from

Norview High School Norview High School is a public high school in central Norfolk, Virginia. Norview High School is one of the five local high schools that serve the city. It is home of the Dodson Scholars Program Dodson may refer to: Places United States * Dods ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in education from

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...

in 1978 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in education and human development from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

in 1990. Hester worked for

Norfolk Public Schools The Norfolk Public Schools, also known as Norfolk City Public Schools, are the school division responsible for public education in the United States city of Norfolk, Virginia. List of schools See also * ''Broussard v. School Board of Norf ...

for 22 years.

Electoral history

Political career

Hester was first elected to Norfolk City Council in 1996, representing Superward 7. In 2004, she was chosen as vice mayor by her fellow council members, holding that position until 2008. In 2010, she ran for mayor against the incumbent,

Paul D. Fraim Paul David Fraim (born October 26, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat, he was elected to the City Council of Norfolk, Virginia in 1986, was appointed mayor of Norfolk July 1, 1994 and re-appointed every two years until May 20 ...

, and two other challengers, losing to Fraim, 64% to 30%. After losing the election, she resigned her council seat. State Senator

Yvonne B. Miller Yvonne Bond Miller (July 4, 1934 – July 3, 2012) was a Virginia educator and American politician who became the first African-American woman to serve in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. A Democrat, in 1983 Miller became the first ...

died in July 2012, creating an opening in the 5th Senate district. Delegate

Kenneth Cooper Alexander Kenneth Cooper Alexander (born October 17, 1966) is an American politician currently serving as mayor of Norfolk, Virginia. Alexander also serves as chancellor for twenty career colleges which includes: (i) Centura College; a healthcare, busin ...

won her seat in a September 4 special election, creating another vacancy in the 89th House district. Hester defeated Yvonne Allmond, a banker, 840–290 in a Democratic party

firehouse primary {{Short description, Election run by a political party to select a candidate or nominee for a later general election A firehouse primary, also called a firehouse caucus or "unassembled caucus", is a term sometimes used in the United States to descri ...

on October 17. Hester then defeated James J. St. John, an independent, in the special election on December 18.

Notes

External links

* (Constituent/campaign website) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, Daun Sessoms 1955 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia city council members Women state legislators in Virginia African-American state legislators in Virginia African-American women in politics Virginia State University alumni George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development alumni Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia Women city councillors in Virginia 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American city council members