The Shadow
Covington City Council is guaranteed to have at least one new member after the upcoming elections in May.
Mayor Rob Bennett announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
“I’m against term limits, but I made a personal commitment to myself of eight years,” said Bennett, whose term will expire at the end of June. “I believe that’s plenty. That’s not to say that I won’t ever run again, but I think it’s time for someone else to have a chance and learn.”
Bennett was elected to represent District 5 in 2004. Since then, he’s served as mayor during his first two years and final two years on council, in addition to a stint as the vice mayor during Stephanie Clark’s time as mayor.
Being elected to city government was a learning experience for Bennett.
“You really learn how your local government works. The biggest thing I learned is how slow it is. You think you can get on there and make a difference right off the bat, but it’s a slow process,” he said.
Looking back, Bennett can find reason to be proud of his work on council.
“We’ve accomplished some really good things, including the building of the new schools, although at some point we’re going to have to continue to pay for it,” he said. “But it was something that we needed.
“The biggest thing I’m proud of is our open government. At our meetings you’re welcome to come and speak. You’re not going to be turned away,” Bennett added. “I’ve really enjoyed our meetings and seeing people get involved in their government.”
The open government was one of the platforms that Bennett promoted during his first campaign.
“I sort of ran on that eight years ago and the other council members warmed to it,” said Bennett. “When Harrison (Scott) was mayor, he carried it on. When Stephanie was mayor, she carried it on.
“People come up to us after our meetings and tell us they’re so thankful that we let them speak. I hope that carries on. It works for us,” he said.
A seat on Covington City Council comes with a variety of challenges, from making budgetary decisions to dealing with personnel issues.
It was the personnel issues that sometimes cost Bennett a little sleep.
“We got a new city attorney. We’ve been through three different interview processes for city managers,” he recalled. “My first two years I was the chairman of the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation, which was very stressful. I went through personnel changes, two directors there that I was responsible for letting go.
Doris Baker was wonderful. She’s the secretary there and if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what those two years would have been like.”
Conducting interviews was a new experience for the Covington High School teacher-turned city councilman.
“I’d never had to deal with a interview process where you have three people interviewing and you could’ve hired all three, but you could only pick one,” said Bennett. “You ask yourself if you picked the right one. That kept me up at night.”
His day job as a teacher has helped at least one of his fellow council members.
“When Rob came, I didn’t know anything about government. He’s a good teacher,” said Councilwoman Stephanie Clark.
“He’s patient, he’s been good for the council. He’s been good for the young people to relate to council and I just think he’s been good for the community. The open government has been great.”
Bennett doesn’t expect that not seeking re-election will keep him away from the local political scene.
“I still want to be there in a supporting role. I’ll attend meetings every once and a while and be there for support.
Council needs support,” he said. “I know I had it from residents and other council people. They were wonderful to serve with, the city managers, all the department heads. It was a wonderful eight years.
“I wish everybody could have a chance to get in there and try to improve and make some changes. It sounds easy, but it’s difficult. And it’s a very rewarding experience,” Bennett said.
There will be three council seats on the May 1 ballot.
In addition to Bennett’s District 5 chair, both Clark in District 3 and Vice Mayor Buddy Brown in District 4 are also up for re-election.
The deadline for candidates to qualify to appear on the ballot is March 6 and new council members will take office on July 1.
