Ashley Michael is a daughter, mother, advocate for her community, and now the first female mayor of Louisa County. On Tuesday Nov. 4, A. Michael found out she had become the new mayor, after months of advertising her run as a candidate.
Michael has lived in Louisa County for 10 years. She, along with her husband Joel, have four children, all who attend Louisa schools. Michael and her family live in the heart of Louisa and are very involved within the community.
“Hands down, the people. Louisa is full of generous, helpful, kind people,” A. Michael said. “The community takes care of each other and consistently looks for ways to support one another and make our home better.”
Being involved in the community opens so many doors for opportunities to arise and new people to meet. A. Michael is involved in many things around the community and this allows her to meet new people and grow those already made bonds with others.
“It’s not uncommon for the activities I am involved in to have overlap, so having familiar faces and support is always a plus,” A. Michael said. “I have built my strongest friendships through my service and involvement in the community.”
Michael’s passion for serving and uniting her community played a huge part in her decision to run in this year’s mayoral race for the Town of Louisa. A. Michael didn’t let her passion simmer inside of her, she took the step of confidence and applied as a candidate.
“I was out in Cleveland at a conference for my work, my CEO and CHRO were speaking and explained that the greatest growth and leader development they have had was serving on boards outside of our company, specifically, in the local government,” A. Michael said. “I had always had a strong passion for government and serving my community and I knew the Town was having a special election this year, and I felt like it was a message placed before me at the perfect time. Their gentle nudge to step out on faith was just what I needed. I came home and immediately filed my candidacy form.”
Being the first female mayor already brings many changes for the town itself. A. Michael’s ideas for this town also brought some different changes.
“I only knew her through church, so I wasn’t sure what she could bring to the table. However, after reading her analysis of the Town’s budget, I knew she had depth and could be a breath of fresh air on complex issues,” School Board member Lloyd Runnett said. “I had a good feeling she was going to do well.”
When running for candidacy the most important thing to pull people in is having goals or new changes. Though some are often scared of adding or removing things, having some good changes can positively grow a community. Goals provide motivation but also discipline. Goals open up motivation for the community to get involved and show discipline for the people implementing those goals.
“I want to focus on maintaining some stability in our staff and Council. We have had many vacancies recently and stability is needed. I want to start laying the foundation for our future state and vision as a town. Asking ourselves, Where do we see the Town of Louisa in 10 years? and what steps do we need to take to get there?” A. Michael said. “I want to engage our community in ways that they haven’t been before. I want the residents to feel like they have true ownership in their local government and accountability from their elected officials. Most importantly, I want our residents to feel pride and hope when they think of our town and see the impact of their tax dollars.”
After A. Michael was elected, many people in the community were ready to watch her get to work, including her daughter Bayleigh Michael.
“The thing I am most excited to see my mom implement in the town is adding more sidewalks,” B. Michael said. “I love to go on walks and walk places and I think our town definitely could use more sidewalks to be able to walk safely, especially benefiting parents and teens in our community.”
On Nov. 4, A. Michael was up early promoting her campaign at the polls in Louisa. That night her friends and her family gathered to hear the news of the election.
“The words to describe when I found out I won mayor would be elated, humbled, [and] honored. It was surreal sitting in the elections office and realizing that the Town residents had spoken and were trusting me with this opportunity. I am truly so grateful and excited,” A. Michael said. “I cried a few tears of joy as I called my husband to tell him and drove home. I think the best part was everybody else’s reaction. I think some people were just as excited as I was. That is a really cool feeling.”
Seeing all the success come together after working so hard can often feel like a breath of fresh air. Working so diligently for something like this can have such a positive impact on oneself but also those around.
“From watching my mom build her candidacy one thing I have learned and seen from her is once you put your mind to something, no matter how hard it gets don’t give up,” B. Michael said.
A.Michael has already gotten to work as she has sat in on town meetings, led her own town meeting, created budgets, and planned events.
“I can’t wait to partner with the school system and the community to better this town that we all love,” A. Michael said. “Winning was truly an honor and I am excited to continue growing as mayor and also as a town.”
