Gene Cerino will seek his third consecutive term on the Auburn City Council this fall.

"After due deliberation, I have determined that my health and energy are at a level that will allow me to give maximum attention to the responsibility of a new term on the City Council," said Cerino, 82.

"City government does not take place in a vacuum. We are trapped in a downturn that requires us to be at the table or be an item on the table," Cerino said. "Mandates come to the city from many levels above us such as the federal government, the state government, (the two counties) our citizens live in and the Puget Sound Regional Council."

Cerino said he believes there should be at least a two-year learning period for a new Council member to immerse himself or herself in representing the residents and not just in the immediate problems of running the city.

As such, he said, today's council member must represent the city on as many levels as possible. As a 12-year veteran of the Council — he served his first term from 1995-99 — Cerino has been a member of all four of the standing committees, sat on several temporary committees and represented the city on a number of local and county boards and associations.

The Montana native served as an Army Paratrooper in World War II, then lived in Alaska for nine years when it was still a territory. He first came to Auburn in 1959 when the city's population was 14,000. He taught at Auburn High School until his retirement in 1982. He still substitutes for the Auburn School District.

Fellow councilmember Rich Wagner and Mayor Pete Lewis already have announced their candidacies. Councilwoman Nancy Backus, whose term is also up this year, has not publicly declared her candidacy.

Contact Auburn Reporter News reporter Robert Whale at rwhale@auburn-reporter.com or 253-833-0218, ext. 5052.

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