Mayor Steve Noble said Thursday that he would not seek a fourth four-year term in city elections next year. The announcement by the longest-serving mayor in the history of Kingston sets up the city’s first open-seat mayoral race in over a decade.

“For many reasons, as a deeply contemplated decision arrived upon with my family, I will not be seeking re-election for the office of mayor in 2027,” Noble wrote in a press release issued Thursday morning. “It truly has been an honor to be entrusted by the residents of Kingston for so long with such a big responsibility in our small, amazing city. I have not yet made a decision on my next chapter, but I want you all to know that my heart will always be with Kingston.”

Noble, a graduate of Kingston High School’s Class of 2000, began working for the city as an environmental educator at the Forsyth Nature Center right after college in 2004. By 2015, Noble was helping design and seek grant funding for sustainability programs; he was also a co-founder and board member at the Kingston Land Trust. That year he won the support of the city’s Democratic Committee to take on his boss, then-mayor Shayne Gallo, in a primary. The volatile Gallo had spent his first and only term in office in a running battle with the committee which did not back him in 2011 and whom he accused of undermining his administration.

Noble was seen as a candidate who could bridge the gap between the more progressive “New Kingston” then just starting to emerge and old-line Democrats embodied by his uncle, James Noble, a longtime alderman and president of the Kingston Common Council. With backing from the Democratic Committee, Noble bested Gallo in a bitterly contested primary before handily defeating Republican Sixth Ward Alderman Ron Polacco. Noble would go on to win two more elections beating businessman Vince Rua and his “Restore Kingston Pride” slate in 2019 and retired auto sales manager Scott Denny in 2023. That year he also fended off a primary challenge by MyKingstonKids founder Frank Waters. This year he became Kingston’s longest serving mayor, surpassing Frank Koenig and James Sottile who each served 10 years.

Common Council Majority Leader and Ward 9 Alderwoman Michele Hirsch wasted no time, declaring later Thursday that she will run for mayor.

Noble has focused on making the city greener and more climate-resilient, leading implementation of a sustainability master plan that has included the installation of solar arrays to power city buildings, replacing gas-powered city vehicles with electric models and redesigning infrastructure like storm drains to account for climate change.

Early in his tenure, Noble created the Office of Grants Management, which has vastly expanded the city’s portfolio of state and federal grants including a $10 Downtown Revitalization Initiative and a $23 million RAISE grant through the Biden administration. Noble also created new offices to work on housing issues, the arts and wellness. While embarking on major infrastructure projects including the redesign of the Broadway corridor and other “complete streets” intended to enhance bike and pedestrian safety.

Noble’s most enduring legacy might be the new “form-based” city zoning code adopted in 2023. The code, which completely replaced one dating back to the early 1960s, was designed to encourage infill development and adaptive reuse. The new code raised height limits for buildings and dropped parking requirements for new construction, creating a denser, more urban streetscape and undoing some of the changes wrought by the Urban Renewal efforts of the 1960s and ’70s.

Noble’s tenure coincided with a surge in sales tax revenue that allowed him to keep property tax hikes at zero for his first eight years in office even as the city’s coffers remained full enough to fund infrastructure projects and pay capital expenses in cash rather than borrowed money. The good times for the city’s finances ended during the 2025 budget cycle, when a combination of soaring costs of employee benefits, inflation and a large increase in the city’s debt service costs following a spate of large and expensive infrastructure projects. Since then the tax levy has risen by 18.7 percent. Noble has asked the Kingston Common Council to approve a tax hike of 6.9 percent in the 2027 budget. Noble has said he is committed to managing the budget without layoffs or cuts to city services.

In the statement announcing his decision, Noble looked back on his tenure, including wrenching debates over police reform after 2020’s George Floyd protests, efforts to protect tenants rights and dealing with the pandemic.

“Each and every day I get a chance to speak with Kingston residents about the importance of this role that I have been honored to serve in,” Noble wrote. “I have sought to lead with professionalism and a calm and composed demeanor, reflecting my deep respect and care for my hometown. So many folks have seen such positive change in our community and I am proud to have been part of that alongside my hard-working staff and colleagues.”