Chris Audenried Tapped to Fill Vacant Nazareth Borough Council Seat

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

Nazareth Borough Council unanimously appointed Audenried to fill a seat left vacant by the Rev. William Matz.

Audenried will resign from his school board seat.

Matz and his wife, who has a spinal ailment, have moved to a Bethlehem retirement community so his wife can get the care she needs, Council President Dan Chiavaroli said at the Nov. 29 Council workshop.

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

Audenried and Terry Lee Fehr were the only residents of the borough’s First Ward to respond to an advertisement in the Nazareth Key that announced the vacancy. About 1,500 residents were eligible for the seat, Councilman Frank Maurek noted.

During a special meeting Thursday, both candidates had the opportunity to make their cases and answer questions from each council member. Councilman Charles Donello was absent.

Audenried 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."

The topic of Nazareth's police department was largely ignored, but Councilman Jack Herbst did ask each candidate for his opinion on regional and local departments.

"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."

Councilwoman Cynthia Werner wondered, "Why does this seem more desirable than your seat on Nazareth School Board?"

Audenried, who will resign from his school board seat, said he simply jumped at the opportunity -- one seat isn't more desirable than the other.

The last to question Audenried was Mayor Fred Daugherty Jr., who pressed the candidate on his ability to handle "fiery arrows."

"I am on the school board. And my wife works for the school district," Audenried explained. "Do I get a lot of arrows? Sure. If we are elected or appointed, that’s what we’re here for... to be there when someone has a concern or complaint. It’s part of the responsibility and part of the challenge."

Audenried will be sworn in during Council's Jan. 7 meeting.

Audenried and his wife have two children. Their daughter is a recent graduate of Kutztown University and currently works for Dan’s Camera City, and their son is majoring in political science at Moravian College.

The resumé Audenried submitted to Nazareth Borough Council is attached to the right of this article.