Incumbent Adrian Mayor Angie Sword Heath being challenged by Allen Heldt in Nov. 7 election

Adrian Mayor Angie Sword Heath, left, and Allen Heldt, right, are on the Nov. 7 general election ballot for mayor of Adrian. Heath is seeking her third term in office, and Heldt, a city commissioner since 2015, is seeking to assume the mayor’s office. Both are seen participating in a candidate forum, Oct. 5.

ADRIAN — Next week, Adrian city voters will elect three city commissioners and the mayor.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds, 602 N. Dean St.

Incumbent Mayor Angie Sword Heath is seeking her third term in office and is being challenged by a current city commissioner, Allen Heldt, who has been on the commission since being elected in 2015.

More: Adrian residents to select three candidates to serve on city commission in Nov. 7 election

The mayor serves for a term of two years.

The Daily Telegram spoke with Heath and Heldt about their candidacies.

Angie Sword Heath

Adrian Mayor Angie Sword Heath

Learning and listening are two of the key words that Heath said have helped guide her along during her two terms as Adrian’s mayor.

She was first elected in 2019 and was reelected in 2021.

As she noted during the Oct. 5 candidate forum conducted by the Lenawee County branch of the NAACP at the Weber Retreat and Conference Center on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, she gave her reelection bid to a third term a lot consideration. The official date of her filing the petition to run for mayor was April 18. In contrast, Heldt filed as a candidate for mayor Jan. 20.

“I gave this a lot of thought,” she said of announcing her intention to seek reelection, also referring to that process as being a “conflicting” time for her. Daily prayer helped guide her decision-making, she said.

“It’s listening and it’s learning,” she said of serving as the mayor and understanding the city budget and current issues facing Adrian. “I don’t have that budget background, but I understand, and I learn, and I look at what is presented, and I take in that knowledge, and I ask those questions.”

Housing concerns, including the lack of available housing and the lack of affordable housing, are among Adrian’s biggest challenges, she said. People will come to Adrian for jobs, but they will leave the city to seek housing. Such concerns are not unique to Adrian, she said, it’s something that is affecting the entire country. Increased rental rates also are not unique to just Adrian, she added.

Quality of life is a huge component for the city, she said. People will choose to live in cities and towns because of the amenities and opportunities available to them. The city commission has been fiscally responsible, she continued, and has not “jumped the gun” when it comes to spending dollars on extravagant items that its residents do not necessarily need or want.

Adrian has been making progress, she said, and she wants to see that progress continue.

“There have been a lot of great things happening in this city,” she said, recognizing that manufacturing jobs and those quality-of-life amenities are needed.

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Allen Heldt

Adrian City Commissioner Allen Heldt

After filing his petition to run for mayor in January, Heldt publicly announced his campaign in early February. He is running to serve as Adrian’s leader on a number of platforms, but he said his main goal is to take action and to get things done.

“The public understands how I govern,” he said. “The public will see a clear difference in how I get things done.”

Like Heath, the housing shortage in Adrian is one of the city’s biggest challenges, Heldt said. To address this, the city needs to get creative while not resulting in the taxpayers having to face some of the burden. One of his biggest frustrations in local government, he said, is the phrase, “That’s how we have always done things.”

The mayor is responsible for moving policy forward and for communicating with the city commissioners and the public, he said. If he is elected mayor, communication will be one of his main priorities. He says it is lacking under Heath’s leadership.

“Our current mayor right now does not communicate with us at all. It’s nonexistent,” he said. “How are you supposed to lead a city commission when you don’t speak to your commissioners?”

Because of the lack of communication, Heldt said, he felt the need to run for mayor as opposed to seeking a third term as a commissioner. He was elected in 2015 and was reelected in 2019. Commissioners serve four-year-terms.

Heldt has been one of the driving forces in addressing Adrian’s blighted properties. Blight remediation efforts will continue under his leadership if he is elected mayor. Public safety, finding solutions to the city’s crime rate, raising the standard of living and improving the city’s customer service are some of his other campaign points, he summarized.

If elected mayor, he is going to be busy, he said.

“Getting things done is what I will do as mayor. It’s what I have done for the last eight years,” he said. “Citizens have told me they want to see the city progress. I am going to bring leadership, communication and collaboration to the city of Adrian.”

Depending on how the public votes on Tuesday, Heldt said he will either be mayor or retired from public service. He will respect the public’s decision either way and, “ultimately, the citizens will get the government that they deserve,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian Mayor Angie Sword Heath challenged for office by Allen Heldt