Every election cycle, Moore County voters are asked to make decisions about the people who will govern their daily lives — their roads, their taxes, their public safety, their schools. Too often, those decisions get made with too little information.

The Lynchburg Times is committed to changing that. This election season, we submitted an identical set of questions to every candidate seeking office in the August 2026 General Election. The questions were designed to go beyond biography — to surface values, priorities, and the kind of thinking voters deserve to see before they mark a ballot. We asked about community connection, relevant experience, the single issue each candidate considers most urgent, where they might diverge from conventional wisdom, how they’d navigate a budget crisis, and how they plan to serve constituents who didn’t choose them.

The answers are published exactly as submitted, without editing or rewriting. What you read is what the candidate gave us. We’ll let you take it from there.

{Editor’s Note: The Lynchburg Times does not endorse candidates.}

The Times: Tell us about yourself and your connection to this community. How long have you lived here, and what has your involvement in local civic life looked like? In brief, how might voters know you?

Hoffman: My name is Hampton Hoffman, I’m a husband, a father and a grandfather. A job brought me to this area in 2013 and I stayed because I found friendly people, the beautiful backdrop that is Moore County and a deep feeling of home.

I began attending City Council meetings over concerns about the spending and budgetary process. I’m a retired successful business manager who has been reducing costs and managing large budgets throughout my career. Moore County desperately needs these skills in the Council. I noticed that over the past 20 years there have been repeated increases in taxation without increases in services.

I am an active participant in the Moore County Concerned Citizens group who have successfully posted past spending records for viewing to highlight the overspending. If you haven’t yet reviewed this information, I would encourage you to do so.

The Times: What specific experience — professional, civic, or personal — has prepared you to serve in this role?

Hoffman: Throughout my professional career and currently as a consultant I have been trusted to assess the workings of large operations with multimillion dollar budgets with regard to budget, financial controls, lean operations and continuous improvement strategies.

I have served on many boards of directors and civic groups — some formal, some responding to a need in the community. After the devastating tornado in Tuscaloosa, as a manager in a large local company and with help from multiple corporate donors, we acquired and staffed a large warehouse to receive and distribute donations to assist victims of the disaster for the Salvation Army. This was a spontaneous and very effective help to the community.

More formally I have served as President on 5 HOA. I am not big into being a nosey neighbor, however, I worked to make sure we protected property values. Two of the boards I personally created from scratch including charter, accounting processes and management structure.

I also served as President of the Houston, Texas chapter of the American Production and Inventory Control Society with over 1,000 members. I coordinated meetings, monthly dinners, quarterly seminars, training classes and oversaw chapter business.

The Times: In your opinion, what is the single most important issue facing our community right now, and what concrete steps would you take to address it in your first year in office?

Hoffman: The single most important issue is fiscal accountability. Getting involved in budgetary processes either formally or informally would be my first step.

I may only be one of 15 council members, but I would be a voice asking questions and challenging any increases.

Spending and spending on the right items. Property taxes have gone up every year, yet we have issues without funding for things such as infrastructure. Roads require more work than current resources can provide. Where will this funding come from? This is a huge issue that affects us all.

Budgets need to be reviewed more thoroughly than in the past. I suggest we focus on both increases in revenue and decreases in spending.

Potential strategies for revenue would include reintroducing the concept of a sales tax increase along with a clear explanation to the public of why it would not significantly impact their lives.

Where spending is concerned there are possible strategies such as reevaluating current staffing structure for the EMS from 3 shifts generating a lot of overtime to 4 shifts, which while increasing the number of employees actually reduces the cost by 30% or more with the elimination of overtime hours.

I also believe there are other ways to be found through reaching out to the community for ideas.

The Times: Is there an issue where your position differs from what many in your party or your predecessor might support? If so, what is it and why do you hold that view?

Hoffman: I don’t want to talk about the past and criticize; I want to talk about the future.

1. Better transparency and voter input. A more detailed community calendar, open the floor at meetings for public input, and follow Robert’s Rules of Order. The use of Robert’s Rules has improved significantly over the past couple of years, but it still has a lot of room for improvement. There should be a clear agenda published at least 5 days prior to the meeting to allow folks to plan and bring questions or suggestions.

2. Better control of county resources like cars and equipment. Check cars in and out. If there is an accident write an investigation report to be presented to the council. Our use of vehicles is heavy, and it does not improve the level of service. This waste of resources needs to be addressed.

3. Budget — there is no long-term plan. The county goes year by year approving increases and projects without adequate discussion for funding. There should be 1, 3 and 5 year plans in place to avoid everything just being tossed in to tax increases.

4. The State recommends every year the need to add a purchasing agent. Moore County has refused to follow this recommendation to date. This is something that should be done.

5. Zero based budgeting with every dollar justified, not just increases.

The Times: Local government budgets involve real tradeoffs. If you had to choose between cutting services or raising revenue to close a budget shortfall, how would you approach that decision?

Hoffman: These decisions would of course be on a case-by-case basis. The nature of the service would also be critical. The first question would be are there budget adjustments in other areas that could help bridge the gap?

Then the means of increasing revenue should be examined without automatically tossing the cost into increased property taxes.

The Times: How do you plan to stay accessible and accountable to constituents who didn’t vote for you?

Hoffman: I have an open phone line — 205-292-0723, Facebook — Hampton Hoffman and email at hamptonhoffman@gmail.com.

I welcome all opinions and differences to work towards better solutions. I appreciate it when people express their disagreements openly. Better solutions come through discussion and compromise.

If there is enough interest, I would propose a quarterly meeting and round table. We need more involvement regardless. I will use all my resources to facilitate communication.

The Times: What do you want voters who don’t yet know you to understand about why you are running?

Hoffman: You probably don’t know me. “I am not from around here.” I am running because the property tax increases have got to slow down. My experience and not being set in my ways allows me to be a better leader. I have implemented change and culture for over 50 years. I absolutely love Moore County. I want to keep it special and affordable. That won’t happen unless some new fresh ideas are introduced. Right now, we cannot sustain our present path unless there are changes.

The voter registration deadline for the upcoming election is Tuesday, July 7, and early voting will begin Friday, July 17, and extend through Saturday, Aug. 1. Absentee ballots must be requested by Monday, July 27. The Moore County General Election will take place Thursday, Aug. 6. •

About The Lynchburg Times: The Lynchburg Times covers Moore County elections as part of its commitment to community accountability journalism. This work is supported by readers, small business partners, and corporate underwriters