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Elahu Gosney

Elections: Unopposed contestants look toward terms

With only two contested races in the City of Athens heading toward the November elections, City Council members running uncontested are looking to focus their efforts on specific tasks for the city rather than dumping time and energy into campaigns.

“The way to run is unopposed,” said Kathy Hecht, Athens City Auditor.

The nine Athens officials not facing a contest come November have plans to improve the city including improving infrastructure, increasing renewable energy efforts and committing to technological advancements such as new online endeavors.

For Hecht, upgrading technology and efficiency within her department is the focus. She said that the Auditor’s Office has made advancements such as switching to a paperless system and offering electronic filing for taxpayers.  

“I’m always open to keeping up with what’s going on in the world, not only for the people in my office, but for the community and every department in the city,” Hecht said.  

Soon-to-be Council President Jim Sands said with six councilmembers coming in unopposed, his priority is to improve communication among members, adding an understanding of cause and effect is the key to running the city.

“I want to make sure members are more aware of the actions of the mayor and the effect on community members in the city,” Sands said.

In order to build relationships, Sands said he is planning a post-election orientation that will allow new Council members to meet with some of the veterans, such as Elahu Gosney and Kent Butler.  

Hecht, who works closely with Council as auditor, shares Sands’ sentiments.

“Sometimes we vote on issues we don’t understand, so I want to spend more time explaining things,” Hecht said.

Although some find running unopposed creates an opportunity to act on new ideas, Councilman Elahu Gosney said he plans on continuing his work on improving an existing problem: improving Athens’ infrastructure.

“We’ve changed the structure of the city department to work better and we’ve done well,” Gosney said. “But we need to continue to look at big projects and also day-to-day issues.”

Though unopposed veteran councilmembers have a feel for the specific jobs that need to be completed around the city, Gosney said he is anxious to see what new councilmembers will bring the table.

“It will be fun to see what types of ideas new members have and where they want to take the city,” he said.

“I appreciate what I have now,” Hecht said. “I worked really hard so I can appreciate what it means to run for an office. You put yourself out there to the public for the good and for the bad.”

kg278810@ohiou.edu

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