Mayor Wood announces resignation

The City of Hampton will soon be in need of a new Mayor.

Mayor Russell Wood announced his impending resignation, effective April 30, during a special council meeting on Monday, March 14.

Wood has been the Mayor of Hampton since 2019 when he was appointed by the council to complete the term of his predecessor, Brook Boehmler. He was properly elected later that year for a full term and recently won re-election in 2021, putting him just a few months into his second term.

However, since his re-election, Wood's day job as the director of Franklin County Community Services has expanded in scope. Franklin County is part of a multi-county region that shares community service resources. Due to a change in the way the region is organized, all community service staff will technically become employees of Franklin County starting in July. This has left Wood responsible for on-boarding 22 new staff and the subsequent work that comes with tripling his number of employees.

"It's gotten to the point where it encroaches on the time that I use to perform my mayoral duties," said Wood.

As a result, Wood has decided it would be best for everybody for him to step down as Mayor, announcing his resignation effective at the end of April.

"I wanted to give them an opportunity to have somebody there before I leave," said Wood.

During their workshop meeting on Monday, March 21, the city council discussed how to fill the impending vacancy.

The city has two options to pursue. They can either appoint a new mayor to finish out Wood's term, which ends at the end of 2023, or they can leave it to the voters by hosting a special election.

As a special election would cost the city several thousand dollars, the council agreed that appointment would be the most prudent option.

The council will officially make the decision to appoint during the Thursday meeting, at which time the city will begin to accept applications from those interested in filling the position.

Council members themselves may be interested in apply for the position, which happens to be how Wood himself was appointed, though anybody that wants to be considered is free to throw their proverbial hat in the ring.

If a resident wishes to protest an appointment, they will have 14 days to get a petition signed with enough signatures to force a special election at the city's expense.

As for Wood, he is proud of what the city has accomplished during his time as mayor. Under his term, the city has seen growth in the opening of new businesses, including a new grocery store, increased transparency through the broadcast of council meetings, and made it through an unprecedented pandemic.

"I feel like we've made a lot of difference," said Wood. "There were a lot of things we did well. I think we weathered the storm pretty well."

Wood encourages those interested in filling his shoes to step up and use the opportunity to make a difference in the community that they'd like to see.

"I really have enjoyed it," said Wood. "If people want to make a difference, it really is a good way to make a difference."