January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2016
Municipal Center
City Hall, Building #1
2401 Courthouse Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Office: 757-385-4581
wsessoms@VBgov.com
Will Sessoms is a Virginia Beach native and President/CEO of Towne Financial Services Group. He began his political career in 1988 as an at-large member of the City Council. In 1992, his fellow council members selected him to be Vice Mayor, a position he held for 10 years. He was elected Mayor in 2008, and re-elected in 2012.
In 2012, Mayor Sessoms was recognized as Elected Official of the Year by the Association of Defense Communities "for critical role he played in leading and gathering support for Virginia Beach's effort to turn back encroachment" threatening Naval Air Station Oceana.
Mayor Sessoms is past chairman of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, the Hampton Roads Military & Federal Facilities Alliance, and the Oceana Land Use Conformity Committee. He is on the executive committee and board of directors of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance and the Hampton Roads Partnership.
As chairman of the HRTPO, Mayor Sessoms effectively led the region to prioritize its major road projects, resulting in significant state funding. He also led negotiations for Virginia Beach to buy the Norfolk Southern right-of-way through the city. He created the Mayor's Alternative Energy Task Force to explore new energy sources for the city, region and commonwealth.
In 2010, he launched the Mayor's Action Challenge for Children and Families, a community-wide approach to providing youth and families with accessible, affordable and sustainable opportunities to improve their quality of life.
In 2011, Mayor Sessoms established Envision Virginia Beach 2040, a group of bright, passionate and dedicated community activists charged with providing a thoughtful vision for Virginia Beach to achieve by 2040. Their report to the City Council can be found at
www.VBgov.com/envisionVB2040, and the group has formed a Vision to Action Coalition to educate citizens about the vision's details and monitor and report on the city's progress toward achieving the vision.