Surrounded by family holding "Vote Weldon" signs, Abilene City Councilman Weldon Hurt announced Monday that he will run for Abilene Mayor in May.
Hurt's announcement comes just four days after current Abilene Mayor Anthony Williams announced he will not run for reelection. Hurt was first elected to the Place 4 council seat in 2017, the same year that Williams was elected as mayor. Since then Hurt says he has attended 125 city council meetings in person, with only four absences during that time. Hurt is also the president of Pest Patrol, a locally owned and operated business in Abilene for the last 25 years.
Hurt expressed what a great job Mayor Williams has done during his two terms and that he would like to continue to keep the ball rolling if he is elected as mayor.
"We have a lot of good things I would like to see a continuation of. Now there's always new things that are down the road for us, but we have so many good things happening right now. I want to see a continuation of those," Hurt said.
Weldon Hurt will officially file as a candidate for mayor on Jan. 18, 2023, the first day he is able to do so. So far, he is the only person to announce his candidacy for mayor.
Abilene's city council election is set for Saturday, May 6, 2023.