Franklin Mayor Jack Horton closed Monday’s Town Council meeting with the announcement that he would not be running for re-election this year.
Horton has served two terms as mayor, running unopposed both times and previously served on the Town Council as vice mayor. He came to the mayor’s seat having previously served as a county manager in Swain, Haywood and Caldwell counties and two stints here in Macon County from 1985-1991 and 2008-2013.
“If you add all those years up, including my time with the county, that’s about 42 years. That’s a lot of time for somebody to work in public service,” he said. “But it’s a job that I enjoy doing, and I enjoy doing it because we have a great council to work with, and we have an outstanding staff and manager to carry out the work that his council provides direction for.”
Horton underwent unexpected heart surgery earlier this year. He missed the April meeting while recovering but has since been working and returned to chair the May and June meetings.
Horton said he thought long and hard and prayed about whether to run for a third term, and after consulting with his wife, Lydia, decided that he would not run.
“Unless something happens unknown to me between now and then, that will be my stance. But, I’d like to say I appreciate working with the board and with the staff, and I will be here no matter what until the first Monday in December.”
With Horton humor he added, “If I had a pen and the ability to sign some executive orders, I’d probably go ahead and fill up a book. But, we don’t have that,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure and I’m not going away now, so I’ll be around for a while.”
Horton said with filing opening next month, he thought he should let the board know and anyone else who is planning to run for the mayor’s seat or council so that they have time to think about it before filing opens.
In addition to the mayor’s seat, three Town Council seats are up for election this year. Those seats are currently held by Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey, David Culpepper and Rita Salain. The mayor serves a two-year term, and the council member terms are four years.
Guffey said in February he would run for reelection to the council. On Tuesday, following Horton’s announcement the night before, Guffey said, “We’ve been able to do so much under Jack’s leadership. He’s leaving some big shoes to fill. I’ll be filing in July for sure. Jack’s announcement has me weighing the options.”
Culpepper said in April he was not planning to run for re-election at that time. Salain has not said yet what her plans are.
Filing for the Franklin and Highlands municipal elections opens on July 7 with a filing deadline of July 18.