RED BAY – Being an elected official at the local level isn’t always a walk in the park, but there are six elected officials in the west end of the county who said they have genuinely enjoyed the past four years of service to their city and are looking forward to four more years of service.
Red Bay Mayor Bobby Forsythe and council members Mike Kennedy, Mike Stockton, David Tiffin, Charlene Fancher and Brad Bolton were officially given their certificates of election at Monday night’s council meeting.
At the close of qualifying, none of the candidates were facing opposition for the upcoming municipal election on Aug. 28.
According to the Alabama Code of 1975 as amended, write-in candidates are not allowed in municipal elections, so this meant that all the Red Bay candidates would be re-elected to serve for another four years.
“Well, I guess we could look at this a couple of ways: either we’ve done a pretty good job or nobody will have our job,” Kennedy joked.
“But in all honesty, it’s quite an honor to be asked to serve again. We have had a good four years and I think we’ll have an even better four years to come.”
Stockton agreed that the working environment among the mayor and council members was a key component to any success they have experienced since they took office in 2008.
“We all work well together and want what’s best for our city.” Stockton said. “I’m sure there will be some challenges in the years to come, but I am confident we’ll make the right decisions and I look forward to the future.”
Tiffin said he was humbled by the faith the citizens of Red Bay continued to place in the current leadership.
“I hope this means the people think we have done a good job the last four years,” Tiffin said Monday night. “We’ve set some goals and met some of them, but we still have more work to do. We won’t be satisfied with what we’ve accomplished. We want to accomplish more things for our city.”
Fancher agreed the council still has big ideas for Red Bay.
“When we were campaigning four years ago we talked about how important strategic planning is,” Fancher said. “Now we can go through the city and see how [the planning] is moving the city forward.
“We have a new highway coming through, businesses expanding and other projects taking place. It’s an exciting time and I’m looking forward to being part of it.”
Bolton said his time as a councilman has been a privilege.
“This has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to say I’ve served the city of Red Bay,” Bolton said. “I want the best of everything for Red Bay – the best businesses, the best downtown, the best schools and the best teachers.
“Our responsibility is to continue to strive for those things and that’s what we will do.”
When Mayor Forsythe finally spoke, he said there wasn’t much more he could say that hadn’t already been said.
“I agree with everything these council members have said. We have a great group here that wants good things for our city and we have a great group of employees who work for the city.
“It’s an honor to serve here, and I thoroughly enjoy coming and being here on council nights. I’m pleased to serve the citizens for four more years.”
The mayor and council will officially begin their new terms on Nov. 5.