Politics & Government

Audenried, Troxell Vie for Borough Council Seat

Chris Audenried and Richard Troxell are vying for one four-year seat in the borough's Ward 1.

A recently filled Nazareth Borough Council seat will again be up for grabs, and two newcomers are vying for it.

Chris Audenried, who in December was unanimously appointed to fill a seat left vacant by the Rev. William Matz, wants residents to elect him for four more years.

Matz was in the third year of his third term. Audenried, a Republican, will serve out the remainder of his term, which expires at the end of 2013.

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Audenried's competitor for the open Ward 1 seat is Richard Troxell, a Democrat who has lived in the Nazareth Area School District since 1981—five of those years were spent living in Bushkill Township.

Troxell, 60, grew up in Easton and graduated from Easton Area High School in 1971. His wife, Pat, and two sons graduated from Nazareth Area High School.

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His community service includes being a Cub Scout leader when his boys were younger. Troxell has worked for Crayola LLC since 1990 as a maintenance technician, primarily in the plastics department.

According to Troxell, he is running for Nazareth Borough Council to give back through public service and to "be a voice for the taxpayers."

"One main accomplishment will hopefully be to help Nazareth Borough return to and find a way to stay a safe community for all," Troxell said in an e-mail to Patch.

After more than 10 years on the Nazareth Area School Board, Audenried said he was ready to be "part of the solution" for Nazareth Borough and was prepared to handle "fiery arrows."

And Audenried's first days certainly got off to a fiery start.

One day after he took his newly appointed seat on Nazareth Borough Council, Audenried was allegedly found slumped behind the wheel of his car with a bottle of vodka nearby, according to police.

He pleaded guilty Jan. 24 to a summary charge of public drunkenness, according to court records.

But Audenried has had insightful thoughts on the borough's future.

Audenried previously said he grew up on Main Street, where his mother owned a "beauty shop." With that in mind, Audenried said he'd "love to revitalize Main Street."

"But we need to know where the taxpayers money can be best spent," he added. "That’s always a challenge."

When Councilman Jack Herbst asked Audenried for his opinion on regional and local police departments, he said:

"I’ll throw myself out there," Audenried began. "I’d like local control. Are there other issues here that I don’t know about? I’m sure. But I’ve always favored local control over regional—and even state—control."


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