Hampton Mayor Steve Birdsall is ready to serve another term after winning reelection during November’s city and school election.
First appointed mayor in May of 2022, Birdsall tells RadioOnTheGo News his decision to seek another term came after careful consideration following a stroke last April.
“Health did play into that and see where I ended up with this stroke deal and things seem to be going well other than my speech here and there. But, you know, I look at the mayor role here in Hampton and there’s been some turnover over the past several years. And I think I looked at, you know, continuity, you know, if I’m still able to do this and I have the support of the residents. Let’s keep rocking. We’ve done some items and there’s a lot left to do. So let’s just, let’s keep going. And again, like I said, having the support of the community behind me, you know, it means the world to me.”
With another two years in the mayor’s seat, Birdsall says one of the biggest challenges facing rural communities like Hampton is property tax reform at the state level and its impact on local government.
“We hear about that all the time is the property tax legislation that’s going down at the state level. It cuts into our funding to a point, we’ve got to get creative on our budgets on how to make sure everything’s still working and everything’s going as expected. So we’re just coming into our budget season next month. So, you know, it’s time to start buckling it up a little bit again and move forward.”
Birdsall says his next term will be focused on planning for Hampton’s future and making sure the city’s voice is heard as policy decisions are made at the state level.
