Letter to the Editor: Newton is ready for a change

It’s great to see that the announced retirement of Newton Mayor Hansen will finally give Newton our first real election for that seat in many years. I’m stoked that so many have thrown their hats into this race. Now we must do our due diligence and learn about these candidates, what they stand for, why are they running, and what is their plan for Newton if elected. So who exactly is running so far?

We have two current city council members, both of whom have much experience in city government, who know the ins and outs of how all city departments interact with each other and who have working relationships with all city organizations and businesses around town. I believe experience and knowledge to be the first thing that should be considered when examining any resume, and these two candidates have plenty of both, and the records to show for it. There is much we already know about how they would approach the job of mayor.

Then we have a couple of business owners, neither of which have any experience in city government, one of whom has expressed concerns about the way business development and city inspections have been handled in the past, and who says they are running for mayor to implement changes in those areas. My concern here is that a business owner might be so focused on what helps their business that they might put aside the needs of the around 97 percent of us in town who don’t own a business. In fact, one candidate states they got into the race mostly due to their opposition to the commercial building inspections process in town. That may be one concern that needs to be addressed, but I’m not sure a single-issue mayor is who we really need right now. There are many issues that affect residents of Newton other than city commercial building inspections, and regulations that were designed to ensure all businesses in town operate safely and fairly for everyone, and that don’t favor one business over another.

Then we have a candidate with zero experience in city government, but one who was born, raised, and went to school here. Sometimes a fresh look from someone on the outside is what is needed to shake things up and give a new perspective of things that need to be done around here. But then again, experience does matter.

We’re going to need to hear a lot more from all these candidates, how they would approach the job, and what are their plans for Newton if elected, before we can make an informed, intelligent decision on who we select to lead our city into the future.

Do we value knowledge and experience in a candidate?

Do we choose a business owner whose main focus seems so far to be on what will protect them and other business owners in town?

Or are we ready for someone completely new, someone who has lived here all their life and has opinions and ideas about how things should be done, but who would be another gamble, as they have no real experience in city government?

I hope to hear much more from and about these candidates in the coming weeks.

And I hope the best person wins.

John Moore

Newton