HAMPTON, Va. — Mayor Donnie Tuck is not running for re-election, making way for two former firefighters vying for the city’s top role.
Jimmy Gray and Richelle Wallace are running for the job.
Gray, the city's former fire chief and assistant city manager, has been vice mayor since 2018 and wants to continue many of the city's recent strategies.
“I think the next step for me to be able to continue the progress that we made the last several years is for me to step into that role of mayor and lead the city into the future," he said.
He says he wants to build on the city's investments in public safety and provide more resources to support youth in the community.
“I want to continue that progress. I’d like to totally eliminate violent crime in Hampton, and I think working with the partners that we have in the community, we can accomplish that," he said.
He said he wants to better support local businesses by improving city services and hiring more staff, and he hopes to invest in more technology for law enforcement.
“Cameras, technology like ShotSpotter that is being used around the region," he said. "So wherever we can invest in technology to help make up for where we may not be able to provide more police officers I think it is a worthwhile investment.”
Richelle Wallace is a retired fire captain who spent nearly two decades with Hampton Fire.
“It’s time for change in the City of Hampton," she said. “I want to make sure the city is run appropriately, that we have someone in there speaking for the people, the citizens of Hampton.”
In 2015, Wallace sued the city citing discrimination while a member of the fire department.
She says doctors later diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder, and she wants to make sure others have needed support.
“Most of us see that PTSD as military, and do not realize how much trauma our fire department, our law enforcement, our doctors, our judges, see on a regular basis," she said.
Wallace says she wants the city's budget to focus on economic revitalization and more resources for mental health and youth.
She also wants to boost recruitment and hiring for the city's police and fire departments.
The winner of the election will serve for four years, and starting in July, the Hampton mayor's salary will almost double to $47,000.