Divided council picks Tracy Taylor for deputy mayor

Published 1:50 pm Thursday, December 4, 2025

By a vote of four to three, the Auburn City Council on Dec. 1 chose Councilmember Tracy Taylor over current Deputy Mayor Cheryl Rakes to hold that office in 2026.

Before the vote, the candidates spoke of a council that should be working together, but hasn’t been doing that as well as it might have over the past one to two years. Likewise, they shared their common hope that the new deputy mayor, whoever that turned out to be, would mould the city’s legislative body into a team that pulls together, shows up for meetings and treats all peers with respect.

“We do our best when we are aligned, informed and able to have honest conversations, even when we disagree,” Taylor began. “The deputy mayor’s role should help reinforce that culture, creating a space for teamwork, clarity and shared goals. The deputy mayor should be a connector, a steady presence, and someone who helps the entire team succeed. This is the kind of leadership that I am committed to bringing to this position,” Taylor said.

“My commitment has always been to work collaboratively and with respect for the good of Auburn,” Rakes said. “Unfortunately, there have been times when the council has not worked with me, and that lack of collaboration has made it harder to serve our residents effectively. We cannot allow personal differences or politics to stand in the way of progress. Our community expects us to lead with integrity, respect and unity, and we owe them nothing less. Accountability matters.

“Each of us,” Rakes continued, “has a duty to uphold the standards and conduct that reflect Auburn’s values. We must model professionalism in every intersection because the people we serve are watching. Let’s put aside division and work together as one council united by our shared responsibility to serve Auburn. Our residents deserve nothing less.”

Councilmembers Lisa Sturgis, Clinton Taylor, Hanan Amer and Tracy Taylor voted for Taylor while Yolanda Trout, Kate Baldwin, and Rakes voted for Rakes.

Among the deputy mayor’s responsibilities are to fill in for Mayor Nancy Backus when, for whatever reason, the city’s chief executive is incapacitated, cannot perform her duties or is out of town, and to work with councilmembers.

Baldwin explained what she would be looking for in a deputy mayor.

“What I think is important is finding someone who will be ready and willing to meet with me, take meetings, work with me as I bring things forward from a legislative stance, hear me out when I have things I’m trying to bring forward on behalf of the city, trying to get things on the agenda, trying to make sure we stay informed as a council body, and doing the work that the community needs of us.

“In the past year,” Baldwin added, “I’ve been able to say that Deputy Mayor Rakes has been able to provide that support, worked to put tools in place to do so and make it easier to facilitate those meetings, to facilitate bringing those agenda items forward and making sure that she provides updates back to me when she takes things up to the mayor and forward to the administrative side of the house.”

Councilmember Clinton Taylor spoke of his disappointment with the council over the last two years.

“When you’re asking your peers to put confidence in you to be able to help steer this body of elected officials, to be able to work collaboratively with the mayor … and help to eliminate some of all the other stuff that most folks have witnessed and seen here recently, I have to be honest. I have been a little disappointed in some of the ways that things have been conducted in the last two years.”

He then urged Tracy Taylor and Rakes to remember how important the role is, “because again, and God forbid it does happen, if something should happen to our mayor, you just asked us to vote for you as the person that would step in and lead the city,” Taylor said.

Councilmember Yolanda Trout explained why she nominated Rakes and defended her against criticism. Since Rakes has been on the council, Trout said, she has been one of the people willing to take others under their wings and be genuine. She noted that Rakes is experienced working downtown as the CEO of the Downtown Association. and works very closely with the businesses in town, who all respect her, and she works very closely with the mayor. As deputy mayor, she has worked very hard on trying to get this council to pull together, Trout said.

“As Councilmember Clinton Taylor said, these past two years have been really difficult years to be working together as a council. Cheryl has always been there for me,” Trout said. “Cheryl has tried very hard to meet with each one of us councilmembers, and repeatedly, they’re always cancelling the meetings with her. It’s not that she’s not been trying. It’s not a lack of experience.”

On a personal note, Trout criticized the lack of concern some of her peers showed for Rakes when the deputy mayor’s husband died earlier this year.

“Seeing some of the councilmembers not have the empathy they should have for a deputy mayor who couldn’t be here to do her job thoroughly like she wanted to because she was taking care of her family, she was taking care of her dying husband, and she was trying to do her role as a councilmember. Now, I think that’s character,” Trout said.