AUBURN, Maine — Jeff Harmon said he moved to Auburn with his wife around 35 years ago. Since then he was an officer for the Auburn Police Department and began working for the Maine State Police.
Harmon now has another title to add to his resume. The mayor's office for the city he said, gave him so much.
Harmon unseated incumbent Jason Levesque in November, who oversaw flooding, a presidential visit, and a mass shooting that shook the state.
"Auburn is very safe, it continues to be very safe," Harmon said. "But it's something in the past—people have always thought something like this would happen someplace else—it's a difficult adjustment to make."
Harmon said the aftermath of the shooting is partly why he views listening to community members as a key component of what he wants to do as mayor.
"The number one thing I will do is listen to people. Everyone comes into every issue with some perspective. I think people need us to listen to them regardless of what their ideology is," Harmon said. "People have a real concern, and you need to listen to what they have to say, and you need to take it into consideration," he added.
Other issues Harmon touched upon, besides better inclusion of community voices, were the water quality at Lake Auburn, issues with the city's recycling program, and an ongoing lack of shelter for homeless people in the Lewiston/Auburn area.
"Auburn has a lot of challenges; those challenges didn't change from the day before the election and to the day after," Harmon said.
Harmon said he also wants to make sure residents feel heard throughout the governmental process and see their input being put to use.
"People in the community have felt their voices have not been heard and when they were speaking there was no real consideration to what they said," Harmon noted.
Harmon will be sworn into office on Dec. 14 and has his first city council meeting on Dec. 18.