The Auburn City Council officially re-elected three members on Tuesday night, as all three ran unopposed in the municipal elections.
Mayor Ron Anders was officially re-elected during Tuesday night’s meeting along with council members Beth Witten, of Ward 3, and Tommy Dawson, of Ward 8.
No one qualified to run against them before the June 28 qualification cutoff date.
The evening’s vote was a formality, in line with state code. None of those names will appear on the ballots on election day on Aug 23.
“When there are no opposing candidates then we move through the resolution process and declare people elected,” city manager Megan McGowen Crouch said. “To clarify though, nobody’s in their new office or term of office until the first Monday of November. But it also requires that names not appear on the ballot.”
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Ward 3’s Witten is currently in her second term on the city council. She also acts as Mayor Pro Tem. She says serving Ward 3 is an “honor’ and a “privilege,” but also acknowledges the changes that have happened since redistricting.
“Ward 3 looks very different with the redistricting and I’m just proud to know that the original constituents and the new constituents still have confidence and I look forward to keeping their confidence,” Witten said.
As Witten prepares for her next term, she plans to work alongside Anders on his Auburn 2040 plan. She also plans to focus on transportation and infrastructure needs, particularly on the north side of the city.
“Infrastructure and transportation and traffic issues are always front and center of my mind,” she said. “We have a lot of growth on the north side of town. So, Richland, Donahue, Shelton, and Farmville all remain very key corridors for travel. And I want to make sure that we provide our constituents with the best ease of access for traveling north out of Auburn with the amount of growth that we have.”
Ward 8’s Dawson is also in his second term as a Council member and says he is excited for the next four years.
“I’ve enjoyed the eight years I’ve been doing this on the council,” Dawson said. “I’ve got a little more work I want to get done for our citizens and I’m looking forward to it. Auburn is a great place to live and work.”
Dawson also wants to move forward on Auburn’s transportation issues, but also wants to continue to focus on support for citizens.
“I think we need to improve on our infrastructure,” he said. “We’ve grown a lot and our roads can’t handle the amount of traffic we’re putting on them. And I think we could do more for our senior citizens. I’d like to work on that some this coming term. As always I’m going to support the police and the city school system.”
Anders also previously spoke to the Opelika-Auburn News about his re-election.
“I’m thankful and grateful that this community has enough confidence in myself and the leadership that I’ve exhibited over the last four years to allow me the privilege of serving as the mayor for the next four years,” Anders said.
“Being the mayor of Auburn is an honor. Citizens of Auburn should expect that the people that they elect to serve them give their very best effort. I hope that’s what I’ve done over the last four years and I'm looking forward to continuing that effort for the next four years.”
All members of the city council will begin their next term the first Monday of November 2022.