After 12 years on the job, Bayport Mayor Susan St. Ores is calling it quits.
St. Ores, 60, said Thursday that she has decided not to run for re-election; filings for the position close at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
St. Ores was elected mayor in November 2010 and ran — and won — five more times after that.
“I absolutely love our hometown community, and it has been a wonderful experience to serve the citizens of Bayport, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and exploring new volunteer opportunities in the (St. Croix River) Valley,” she said.
During her tenure, she said, Bayport has built strong partnerships with its neighbors and “made important investments in our infrastructure, parks, equipment and staff.”
She said it’s a good time to leave office because the city “is in such a strong financial position and has a full suite of talented staff across all the departments. I feel really good about how the city is currently situated.”
The mayoral seat and two council seats are up grabs on Nov. 8.
St. Ores said she hopes more residents will get involved in local government “as new and more perspectives result in better representation.”
She also said she hopes that the city’s priorities will continue to be “preserving our strong financial position, strengthening public safety, enhancing the small-town culture, and ensuring transparency and good faith communication in all government decisions, all while holding the line on taxes.”
“Those have been my priorities … and my hope is that future city councils will reflect these same values in their actions,” she said.
