Jimmy Gray

Took office Jan 1, 2025. Former Vice Mayor. Former firefighter. Succeeded Donnie Tuck who did not seek re-election. Term expires Dec 2028. [2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement] Roster verified: Mayor of Hampton; elected Nov 5, 2024 (~70% over Richelle Wallace); sworn in Jan 8, 2025; current term ends Dec 31, 2028; next election 2028. Hampton officially nonpartisan; filed as Independent (VPAP committee 'Gray for Hampton City Mayor – Jimmy'). HARD evidence: (1) On MAY 30, 2025 issued a FORMAL LETTER on Hampton city letterhead rejecting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's placement of Hampton on the federal 'sanctuary jurisdictions' list. Hampton.gov posted the scanned PDF (CreationDate Fri May 30 16:23:13 2025 EDT, Ricoh IM C4510 scanner). Gray on the record (WTKR): 'Our city council has not adopted any ordinances, policies or resolutions, classifying ourselves as a sanctuary city... our police department and the city are cooperating when [we] are requested to assist with any execution of warrants or other activities involving Homeland Security agents working in our city.' → border_immigration q2 TRUE (affirmative rejection of sanctuary policy + endorsed federal-preemption posture). (2) Joint press briefing with Hampton Police Chief Jimmie Wideman on the surge in violence — Mayor Gray publicly partnered with the Chief, told residents to 'lock up your guns around your house, so if you have a break in, they can't steal your weapons,' and praised state-police partnership on 'street interdiction and traffic enforcement' as 'very effective' at getting 'guns and drugs off the street.' Combined with FY26 budget priorities to fund competitive police salaries — affirmative pro-LE advocacy bar met → public_justice q0 TRUE. (3) FY26 Hampton budget May 2025 ($677.9M, 1¢ real-estate tax-rate cut to $1.14/$100, 6-1 with Campbell the lone NO) — Gray was in the YES majority and publicly defended pay raises for city employees; this is routine governance with growing topline spending (5.4%), not fiscal-restraint advocacy in the rubric q2 sense → null on economic_stewardship q2 per the Wolfenbarger high-bar precedent. (4) April 2026 camping/sleeping-on-public-property ordinance (5-2 YES, with Brown/Ferebee NO) — Gray voted YES and framed it as continuing to be 'the compassionate community we strive to be'; he said the ordinance 'would be applied evenly to anyone in violation' — public-order ordinance, NOT affirmative pro-LE advocacy by itself. DEVIATION FLAGS: (a) Gray serves on the boards of Providence Bible College & Theological Seminary AND Bernadine Franciscan Sisters Foundation — religious-board service is real but does not by itself satisfy christian_liberty q0 (high-bar public-square Christian profession requires an active public profession like Anton Bell's Sixth Commandment court argument; Gray has not made one in available sources) → christian_liberty cells null. (b) Hampton city government earned a 100/100 HRC Municipal Equality Index score and sponsors the Phabulous Phoebus Pride Festival — Gray has NOT personally signed a Pride proclamation that is documented in available sources; the sponsorship is institutional/CVB-led, so biblical_marriage and christian_liberty q4 are null pending a direct personal-signature finding. (c) On Feb 27, 2026 Gray accepted the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (Peninsula) Humanitarian Award and framed his work as 'building bridges, creating space at the table, and ensuring that no child, and no adult, feels unseen or unheard' — diversity/inclusion language but specifically racial/ethnic/religious framing, not LGBTQ-specific → null. (d) State of the City Dec 3, 2025 'Level Up' speech praised Hampton City Schools' graduation rates; not a curriculum/parental-rights statement → null. NO EVIDENCE FOUND on sanctity_of_life, biblical_marriage q0/q2/q4 (no marriage/sexuality policy statement and no personally signed Pride proclamation located), family_child_sovereignty (no school-choice/parental-notification/CRT/SOGI statement), christian_liberty q0/q2/q3/q4 (board service to religious institutions is biographical, not active public-square advocacy), economic_stewardship q2 (routine budget YES with 5.4% growth not fiscal-restraint advocacy), election_integrity, public_justice q1/q2/q3/q4 (no bail-reform/restitution/public-health-framing/sword-of-state statement; Gray's gun-violence framing is shared-responsibility, not specifically magistrate-sword), refuse_state_overreach (chairs VML Legislative Committee but no specific Dillon-Rule pushback documented), border_immigration q1 (no statement on deportation of minors), self_defense (gun-violence framing emphasizes secure storage but no 2A-rights affirmation and no anti-2A position either).