Mayors and other local elected officials from coastal communities all over the United States gathered in Hampton Saturday, hoping to capture the attention of candidates visiting the first in the nation primary state.
The summit took place at a hotel by Hampton Beach, a town which, according to a recent study from the Rockingham Regional Planning Commission, has at least $400 million worth of properties at risk from sea level rise.
Officials came from California, Mississippi, the Carolinas and other areas with coasts.
While many of these officials may differ on other policy issues, when it came to Sea Level Rise, or as some preferred to call it, nuisance flooding, they all agreed current funding is insufficient.
"Quite frankly, the water that’s coming in your neighbor's door does not care whether you're a Republican or a Democrat," said Chris Stolle, a state representative from Virginia.
The assembled officials called on presidential candidates to outline what they would do to help towns and cities adapt to the increasing coastal flooding.
