Written By Lexx Thornton
The voters have spoken. Ciara Smith bested four challengers to be elected to a full four-year term leading the Model City. Smith avoided a runoff by winning more than half the vote. According to final tallies, she received 57.31 percent. Steven Folks garnered 19.49 percent, Ben Little 12.08 percent, Kevin Cheatwood 10.26 percent, and Michael Woods .86 percent.
The win makes Smith, 26, both the first Black mayor and the youngest person ever elected to Anniston’s top job. Though polls closed at 7 p.m., Smith waited until after 9 p.m. before declaring victory to a packed house of supporters and family members at the Anniston City Meeting Center.
“Before announcing, I just want to say something, because I think it’s so important,” Smith told the crowd. “I started this when I was 20 years old. I don’t think at 20 that I knew at 26 that I would be in this position, and I had faced a lot of trials and a lot of tribulations, but I can’t explain how it feels to be in this position, not because I know how much I’ve had to sacrifice, but I know Anniston will be better because of it.
“I know that our community will grow, and I hope that my leadership will show people … that there are people who truly care and who desire to be in a place of leadership, because we truly want better for our people. And that’s ultimately my goal,” she added. Smith spoke emotionally about the difficulties she has faced, crediting her faith and persistence.
“I hope, through all this, that everybody’s reminded that there’s nothing that can stop you,” she said. “If God is for you, nobody, nobody can be against you. And so everything that I faced in my life was worth it. … Every doubt that I had, every moment of tears… every moment of thinking that I wasn’t going to make it… Every moment that I’ve experienced to this point was worth it.”
She added, “I’ve had a lot of people ask me, what would I do if I didn’t win? I guess we never know.”
The remarks drew a loud cheer as Smith’s supporters danced and celebrated around Room B of the meeting center.
Smith first became mayor on May 6, when then-Mayor Jack Draper resigned. As vice mayor, she was sworn in to finish Draper’s unexpired term.
Her mother, Christina Wolff, said she never doubted the outcome.
“I never doubted her. She’s been amazing since she was a child,” Wolff said. “I always said she was going to be the mayor of Anniston and the president of the United States. Ciara has never had anything handed to her. She’s worked for everything she’s ever had. She wanted this. Anniston is where she was born and raised her entire life, and she’s built for it. She has the knowledge for it, and her heart and soul are Anniston.”
Former Anniston Councilwoman Debra Foster, the first Black woman elected to the council in 1991, said she sees great promise in Smith’s leadership.
“Well, one thing I can say about her is that, number one, she loves this city. Her heart is in this city,” Foster said. “And it has been a goal of hers, from a small child, to be mayor of this city. And so she left, got her education, came back, and she wanted to make a difference in this community. So her heart is here. She’s eager to do something different. She’s looking forward to moving this city forward in a way that we haven’t seen in many, many years. And so I’m excited about having someone young, fresh, and even from a female perspective.”
