It’s time for a change, a serious change in the way the city administration is run.

As a resident and small business owner in this good city for almost 30 years, I have seen the ebb and flow of the life of Auburn. And what I’ve seen in the last eight years is a constant downward spiral of not only the downtown core but the relationships between the residents and business owners in dealing with the current city administration.

With every neighboring community around us thriving, why is Auburn faltering so? Why aren’t small businesses flocking here? The downtown revitalization plan that we keep being promised hasn’t quite materialized. The city leasing the dinner theater and losing money on it daily, questionably acquiring the farmers market from a nonprofit citizen-run enterprise to a for-profit business of the city run primarily by unpaid volunteers. These things trouble me. Not to mention the lack of, or selective code enforcement, or the constant need to hire consultants for every decision the city makes.

Auburn is not more than I imagined at this point. We have a city council, planners, grant writers, economic development people in the city’s employment. My tax dollars help pay these salaries, and I’m not seeing much return on my investment. So please, everyone, VOTE.

This great city of Auburn deserves to flourish and prosper as much as all of our surrounding neighbors. Consider the next four years. There are people running for the office of mayor who could bring some real, positive change to Auburn.

Isn’t it about time for someone else to lead the way?

– Mark Silberling