He wants to promote Hayesville’s attributes outside Clay County. She wants to focus on problems close to home.
Therein lies the major difference between the two candidates running for mayor of Hayesville in the Nov. 7 election. Mayor Harry Baughn would like another term. He says it would be his last. Town Councilwoman Sarah Buckley says her choice to run against Baughn is not personal, but she will never know how well she could do in an election if she doesn’t try.
Buckley has to vacate her four-year seat on the town council in order to seek the office. The remaining council members, Joe Slaton and Will Penland, were appointed to fill unexpired terms of late Councilwoman Gwen Weaver and former Councilman Josh Ashe, whose residence moved out of Hayesville. Both Slaton and Penland are completing their council terms and are up for election as well. The third candidate is Austin Hedden, who Buckley says decided to run only after she announced her intentions to seek the mayor’s job.
Slaton, Penland and Hedden will win their council seats outright unless there is a groundswell of write-in candidates.
The two candidates for mayor sat down separately last week for reflections on the job, their accomplishments and what they would like to do for the town in the future.