Paige Lampson voted to be next mayor of Galt
The Galt City Council recently voted 4-1 to name Councilwoman Paige Lampson as the next mayor of Galt.
“I’m just so excited to work with the council,” Lampson said. “We all have a great mutual respect for each other, and we can disagree with dignity and work as a team for the betterment of Galt.”
Galt City Manager Eugene Palazzo expressed confidence in Lampson, who was first elected to the city council in 2016.
“She’s been on the council for two years, so I think she’s going to do fine,” Palazzo said.
Lampson — a professional photographer and business owner, long-term substitute teacher — said one of her goals as mayor is to help grow
the Galt Police Department by hiring more officers.
“Basically, with the police department, we’re always hiring,” Lampson said. “Our goal is to help draw officer candidates to the Galt Area and show them that it’s a great place to work in law enforcement.”
Lampson also hopes to complete deferred maintenance projects to improve road safety and obtain more equipment for Galt police.
“I want to make sure they have what they need to keep fighting the good fight,” Lampson said.
Galt has had numerous deferred maintenance projects involving parks, roads, buildings and more since the 2008 economic downturn, Lampson said, and the funds they had set aside to pay for those projects have begun to run out.
As a result, Lampson said the city council will hold several budget workshops in the near future to find ways to pay for those projects, which may include making cuts to the city’s annual budget.
“We’ve got a tough road ahead of us,” Lampson said. “Departments have already been cut, so there are going to be some really tough decisions to be made.”
Encouraging economic development in Galt is another of Lampson’s goals.
“We haven’t had a lot of new businesses looking us over in the two years that I’ve been on the council, so we want to look at fees and see if there’s some way we can help encourage new businesses in Galt,” Lampson said.
A graduate from University of the Pacific with a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communications, Lampson has lived in Galt for 18 years, during which time she has coached high school cheerleading, volunteered with the Police Activities League and served on the Economic Development Task Force.