Rita J. Smith-Daulton sworn in as mayor of Leesburg

Rita J. Smith-Daulton accepted the oath of office as mayor of Leesburg Thursday afternoon (Dec. 28) in a ceremony at the Highland County Courthouse.

Smith-Daulton is a former educator and lifelong resident of the Leesburg community. Prior to being elected mayor, Smith-Daulton served one term on village council, where she was council president and chair of the utilities committee. She was also a member of the village’s public grounds/street/lights, events, ad hoc, public records and plotting committees.

As previously reported, Smith-Daulton won the Leesburg village mayor’s race with 160 votes in the Nov. 7 general election, defeating incumbent mayor Shawn C. Priest, who received 125.

Administering the oath of office was Smith-Daulton’s brother-in-law, Highland County Juvenile and Probate Judge Kevin Greer. Holding the family Bible was the new mayor’s husband, Danny Daulton, almost 12 years to the day after Smith-Daulton held the Bible for her husband’s mayoral swearing-in ceremony (Dec. 29, 2011).

“Thanks for giving me the honor of administering your first oath,” Greer told her before the ceremony.  “Honestly, to take on the incumbent, it’s really rare to beat one, and in political terms, to get more than 55 percent is considered a landslide, so you got 56 percent.

“That's quite an accomplishment. I think it happened probably because you went out and talked to people and convinced them that you are what was best for Leesburg. You need to follow through on that for the next four years.”

Joking that it “may be difficult,” Greer encouraged Smith-Daulton to lean on her husband for advice, as he too served a term on council, then was elected mayor.

“You've got a great mentor in former mayor Danny Daulton,” Greer said. “There’s going to be a lot of questions that are unanswered. Ask Danny. He has a lot of common sense and makes good decisions, and he’ll help you through it.” 

Greer also gave Smith-Daulton advice as she prepares to take office.

“You’ve got to learn to be a good listener,” the judge said. “After you've heard what everybody has to say, then make a decision, not on what's politically popular, but on what you know is right. That's not always easy.

“You’ll do great, but just understand that you're there for the people. The people aren't out there for you. Put them first. It's a great, great community, and a lot of good people came before you, and you can improve on that. I'm sure you will.”

Smith-Daulton, who was choked up after listening to the judge’s comments, gave Greer a big hug after he administered the oath, while her loved ones in attendance — including Greg, Jaden and Josie Smith, Kristy Greer, Susie Deatley and Cohen Frost — gave her a round of applause.

Smith-Daulton told The Highland County Press that she decided to run for office because she had “goals for Leesburg,” which she spoke about while campaigning throughout the community. Those goals included attracting and retaining businesses as well and continuing to make strides with the village administration. She said she also wants to ensure the village continues to be a great place to live and work.

“I want it to be a community where people feel it’s a safe and secure place,” Smith-Daulton said. “I want it to make it a good place to live, where people want to come to Leesburg.

“I went door to door and talked to people, and it was interesting to hear how people feel about Leesburg and how they think it’s such a neat place to live. I said, that’s one of my goals is to keep it that way, where it’s someplace people want to be.” 

Also leaning on her background as an educator, she said she hopes to foster a positive relationship between the village and the Fairfield Local Schools district as another goal that’s “very important to me."

Between both her own community involvement as well as her husband’s years of serving on council and as mayor — plus “living in the community all my life,” as she said — Smith-Daulton said she is ready to serve the village she loves.

“I’m excited to get started and see what we can do for Leesburg, to continue what’s already happening,” Smith-Daulton said. “We have a lot of stuff that’s going on.”