Incoming Asheboro mayor ready to tackle mundane topics

ASHEBORO — Joey Trogdon says he hopes his term as mayor of Asheboro is defined by many of the less-glamorous achievements that he believes are needed for the city in the coming years.

So much like he discussed during the recent election, he wants a concentration on the city’s infrastructure.

“We’ve got some hard decisions to make,” Trogdon said. “We can’t kick the can down the road.”

Trogdon prevailed this month in a matchup between city council members. He received 1,640 votes for mayor compared to Eddie Burks’ 1,171.

“I felt good going in,” Trogdon said. “I was cautiously optimistic. It’s hard to tell with any election. I had gotten a lot of positive feedback.”

Trogdon’s father, Joe Trogdon, was mayor from 1983-2001.

There are a few weeks remaining in outgoing mayor David Smith’s term. He has been mayor since 2009, but decided to retire from city government.

Trogdon will be sworn in Dec. 4 as part of the next city council meeting. Committee assignments also will be doled out at that time.

Burks remains on the council. And there will be the matter at some point of filling the council seat that Trogdon held. Neither Burks nor Trogdon’s council seats were expiring this year.

Trogdon said there are “a lot of different moving parts” for the city council to address. His background is in construction and, much like while he has been on the council, he said he hopes that he can offer sound expertise on related topics.

“A lot of our stuff needs to be replaced and updated,” Trogdon said, referring to issues related to water quality and sewer.

He said equipment and infrastructure has been generally well-maintained, but that some of that has reached a natural end of life. He said he believes residents understand the need for those to be addressed.

There will be three new council members, with Phil Skeen, Phillip Cheek and Mary Joan Pugh taking positions on the board. Kelly Heath kept her spot on the council.

Councilmen Walker Moffitt and Clark Bell didn’t seek reelection. William McCaskill failed to keep his seat as he finished seventh among eight candidates on the ballot, which had been trimmed via a primary.