Will Sessoms is a lifelong Virginia Beach resident who began his political career in 1988 as an at large member of 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. Following a 35-year career in banking, Mayor Sessoms retired as President/CEO of Towne Financial Services Group in 2014.
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 chairs the Oceana Land Use Conformity Committee, and serves on the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission (HRTAC) and the Board of Visitors of Old Dominion University. He is on the executive committee and board of directors of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance.
As past chair of HRTAC, Mayor Sessoms led successful efforts to fund and launch transformative regional transportation projects that will stamp out congestion throughout Hampton Roads, including I-64/I-264 interchange improvements and a third Hampton Roads crossing between the Southside and the Peninsula.
He is past chairman of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization and the Hampton Roads Military & Federal Facilities Alliance. As chairman of the HRTPO, Mayor Sessoms effectively led the region in prioritizing its major road projects, resulting in significant state funding.
In 2014, Mayor Sessoms established the Virginia Beach Biomedical and Health Sciences Task Force to explore the creation of a bio-medical and healthcare hub in the Princess Anne Commons area of Virginia Beach.
In 2011, Mayor Sessoms created 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. The group 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.
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.
During his first year as Mayor, he created an Alternative Energy Task Force to explore new energy sources for the city, region and commonwealth.