Oxford Remains Runner-Up in Strongest Town Contest

In a tight race, the city of Oxford will remain the runner-up in this year’s Strongest Town contest.

Oxford was one of 16 towns that started in the contest, winning each of its rounds to make it to the championship round last week against Lockport, Illinois.

Lockport won the contest, garnering 54 percent of the votes. Oxford earned 46 percent of the votes.

“Oxford dazzled throughout the competition, and towns and cities can look to Oxford as an exemplar of what it means to build lasting strength and resilience,” stated a press release from the Strong Towns organization.

The winners were determined by the number of votes cast online for each city.

In Round 1, the 16 finalists answered questions on a range of topics—from transportation and housing to economic development and the community response to the pandemic. In Round 2, the remaining eight cities provided a photographic tour of some of the things their towns are doing to get stronger and more resilient.

In the semifinals, representatives from each of the four remaining cities sat down for short interviews with program director and the host of the Bottom-Up Revolution podcast, Rachel Quednau.

In the final round, Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn interviewed Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill and Mayor Steve Streit of Lockport in a webcast that can be viewed on the Strong Towns YouTube channel.