Incumbents Selectmen Chairman William "Skip" Sullivan and Ginny Bridle-Russell have already announced their intentions to run for re-election.

So far, it appears they will be challenged by Ben Moore, a former president of the Hampton Historical Society.

"I plan on throwing my hat into the ring," said Moore, who said he plans to take out nomination papers in January. "It is tough to run against incumbents and I have no animosity towards them. They served the town well. I’m just out there to give voters another choice."

In 2002, Sullivan and Bridle-Russell ran unopposed.

All three said the main issue in the upcoming election will probably be the budget and the impact it has on taxes.

"The main issue will be the budget," said Bridle-Russell, who is running for her fourth term on the board. "It’s going to be hard to continue providing the services at a level that people expect and at a level of financing they can afford."

"Taxes, taxes and taxes," said Sullivan. "That is always an issue. We also have several projects that are going on, including the $12 million sewer infrastructure upgrade at Hampton Beach. All of those are going to be on the front burner."

Sullivan is running for a third term.

"We need to figure out how can we maintain an adequate number of services without taxing away the people who have lived here a long time," said Moore.

Bridle-Russle and Sullivan said they were happy to have a challenger.

"It should be an interesting race," said Bridle-Russle. "The three people running so far are very good candidates, each proposing a different point of view on the issues."

"It doesn’t bother me one bit to have a challenger," said Sullivan. "There are 10,000 others who have the same opportunity to run for office. The more the merrier."

Bob Preston of Preston Real Estate was one of the many who urged Moore to run for selectman.

"I’m thrilled," said Preston. "To have someone with his experience in management and accounting, willing to serve the town is just great. Here’s a gentleman that will be fiscally conservative but will strive to maintain the services the town currently provides. He’s a fresh face with no political agenda."

Moore, who is a certified public accountant, recently retired after working for Price Waterhouse and for an English Company.

Although he’s never run for public office, he has been involved in numerous community organizations.