FULTON – Today is the last day of Women’s History Month, and Audrey Avery, Fifth Ward Common Councilor, has accomplished something this year no woman in Fulton has before – claiming the seat for Common Council president.
Avery was elected president at the first council meeting of the year in January, and during the March 2 meeting, Mayor Deana Michaels said after some digging, the council realized Avery is the first woman council president in the city’s history.
“It’s awesome,”Avery said. “It’s my hometown so I’m leaving a little history. Being part of history is an amazing feat all its own obviously. It just shows all of us women that we can do anything… There haven’t been very many women, actually, on the council at all.”
Avery is currently the only woman on the council, which is comprised of six seats.
She said a few of the councilors had approached her to say they would like for her to be president because they believed her to be strong enough to lead and that she gets things done.
She was then nominated and voted into the presidency by four of her fellow councilors and took over for Sixth Ward Councilor Larry Macner who held the seat for 2020. The only councilor to vote no was Second Ward Douglas Chapman.
“I’m happy that we can embrace diversity in leadership in 2021 in the City of Fulton,” Mayor Michaels said. “Women continue to break barriers and challenge the status quo. We are leading the way for the younger generation to pursue key roles. This doesn’t come without challenges however and we have a ways to go. While often objectified we must continue to push forward and fight for a leadership seat at the table and a voice in the conversation. I wish Councilor Avery the very best in her new role and will continue to offer support.”
This is Avery’s second year as councilor for her ward. After having lost in 2017, she ran again in 2019 and won the race. With hopes to carry out the plans she would like to accomplish, she said she will run again for reelection for the next upcoming term.
“You can do anything if you really try hard enough,” Avery said addressing the women of Fulton. “I never thought I’d win a seat as a councilor. I did try three times and on the last time I did win. So you just have to keep moving forward, keep persevering. We can accomplish anything as long as we put our whole mind, body and soul into it.”
She said she initially decided to run because she believed the fifth ward was not being represented properly and that she had a lot to offer the ward and the city.
“There was so much that needed to be done, that it wasn’t being taken care of,” Avery said. “This is my hometown and I was born and raised here. And I’ve seen so many things that I don’t like happen in the past 30 years at least.”
Since she began her first term, she said the experience in working with those who work at the city, residents, landlords, and the other councilors has opened her eyes to different issues in the city. She said she often drives around her ward to spot any issues and to put in work orders right from her car if need be.
“It’s rewarding to me to know that I’m actually helping people and we’re getting the results we were looking for,” Avery said.
Avery said some of the items on her list of things to accomplish includes renovation of city parks – especially installing sidewalks at Voorhees Park, the Municipal Building community room, to continue taking care of the fifth ward to get it back to the way it used to be, to bring in more businesses to the city and to work on Sharp’s Pond.
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congratulations Audery. Setting a new mile marker