As the Auburn community gears up for the Municipal election Tuesday, Aug. 28, the community is also readying itself to see a new face sitting at the center of the City Council.
Mayor Bill Ham Jr., 64, has decided that 32 years on the City Council, 20 of which were as mayor, is where he will cap his “civic rent.”
He was encouraged by then-Mayor Jan Dempsey and several other community members to run for City Council.
“I felt like it was something I needed to do, as she [Dempsey] said to pay my civic rent,” Ham said.
Ham served 12 years, or three terms, as a city councilman. During his time as a councilmember, the Council worked to grow the community which included adding funding for the city schools, Ham said.
Then in 1998, Dempsey and a team of Auburn citizens once again began talking to Ham to encourage him to run for mayor.
Now after 20 years as mayor, Ham said he has decided to retire in hopes of brining more youth to the City Council.
“I’ve got a number of business interests,” Ham said. “I’ve got grandchildren. I’m 64 years old. I don’t look at 64 as old but I know some mayors that are 80 or older. I think you need youth on the City Council.”
Four years ago, Ham talked with Ward 2 Councilman Ron Anders Jr. about the possibility of his fifth term being his last. Ham told Ron he would only leave if the council was able to pass and put a number of initiatives, Ham said.
Ham said he believes he has accomplished what he wanted to accomplish and he has a candidate for mayor to support.
“About 4 months ago I said ‘Ron, I need a commitment from you,’” Ham said. “‘I feel good about your ability to serve this community. There are no guarantees about who will be elected but if you really want to run then I’m not going to run. But if you tell me you’re not going to run then I feel compelled to run again.”
Ham said Auburn’s job growth and creation, upholding the quality of public education that Dempsey started and the new parks and recreation plan are some of his biggest accomplishments from his five terms as mayor.
Ham is also proud of his part in boosting the military community in Auburn. When he was first elected mayor, he felt the military branches were underappreciated in Auburn.
He had a large part in creating the Auburn Veterans Committee in 1998 which hosts the Mayor’s Memorial Day Breakfast, the Memorial Wreath Laying Ceremony and the Annual Veterans Day Ceremony.
“I think putting an emphasis on showing appreciation to those that actually gave us the freedoms we enjoy is pretty important,” Ham said. “That’s one of the very first things we did.”
As Ham wraps up his 20-year stint as mayor, he is starting to look toward his future. He said he is looking forward to traveling and working on various business ventures.
He’s not ready to take it easy, he plans to shift his energy toward other activities while remaining involved in the community, Ham said.
“It’s been an incredible, humbling experience to be the mayor and be involved in local government in the hometown that you grew up in,” Ham said. “I’ve meet so many unbelievable people.”
During his 32-years of city service, Ham worked with a number of Auburn community members and outsiders that invested in the community.
Ham said he hopes to see the Auburn community continue to grow and prosper as a new mayor takes over.
“I hope my legacy would be a progressive community that believes in an excellent quality of life and excellent public education,” Ham said. “A community that is doing everything possible to take care of its citizens from all socio-economic backgrounds and provide the best services possible for everyone that lives here, and certainly that would include those that are here for four years of college.”
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Elizabeth, senior in journalism and political science, is the community editor for The Plainsman
