Longtime council member Ron Foreman dead at 65

Longtime Newton City Council member Ron Foreman, 65, died Sunday at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

Foreman had served for 14 years on the city council and had been the longest seated member at the time of his death.

This morning his friends and colleagues at the city remembered the man who had become an institution in Newton city government. They recalled a man who was doggedly determined to do what he felt was best for the city and who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.

“Ron will be missed. I think his impact on Newton over the past 14 years speaks for itself,” Newton Mayor Chaz Allen said.

Mike Hansen has served his entire tenure on council with Foreman and said his decision to
run for city council was influenced by Foreman.

“When I decided to run for council, I went and sought Ron’s advice,” Hansen said. “After talking with him, I decided that’s what I wanted to do, to serve the community.”

Hansen said he greatly respected Foreman and his willingness to be himself.

“Even though we disagreed on some issues, I had a great deal of respect for the man. He genuinely felt he was doing the right thing,” Hansen said. “He was just who he was. There was no put on with Ron Foreman — what you saw is what you got. He served this community really well, and I’m going to miss him.”

Council member Jim Plumb struggled to put his feelings into words this morning, saying that the news for Foreman’s death made him very sad. Like Hansen, he, too, felt Foreman’s influence when he considered running for council. Ultimately, Foreman’s tenacity spurred Plumb to seek election for the First Ward seat.
Plumb recalled his friend as someone who always spoke his mind.

“Ron, he’s the kind of guy who says it how it was,” Plumb said. “Some people might have thought it was rude, but he was just forward. He was always concerned about the blue collar worker, and he was always concerned about older people. That was a big thing with Ron.