The Port Gibson Board of Aldermen has hired a city attorney to replace Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield, whose resignation officially has been accepted.

In a Tuesday meeting, the board voted 6-0 to hire Natchez lawyer Deborah McDonald for an annual salary of $16,000, said Port Gibson Mayor Fred Reeves. Winfield, who was the city’s attorney for six years, was paid $30,000.

Winfield resigned Dec. 29.

McDonald has a bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law. A resident of Fayette, she has been in private practice since 1991. She has also worked with Southwest Mississippi Legal Services for nine years, six years as staff attorney and three years as director.

She is the city judge for Fayette and represents Jefferson County Hospital and Jefferson County Nursing Home in Fayette.

“I welcome the opportunity to assist the city in any way I can to alleviate its financial condition and its other problems,” she said.