FMHS student wants FM mayor's chair

WOODSMALL

TAKING A RISK

Some people are risk takers. If there is a fresh candidate with no background and nothing to go off of,  I would say it’s 50/50 if they are going to be a bad candidate or a good candidate and some people just like taking that risk.”

Roy Woodsmall, 18-year-old candidate for Fort Madison Mayor

(Story has been updated to include Rodney Hoskins as candidate for the office as well.)
FORT MADISON – Roy Woodsmall wants to give Fort Madison voters a different option. He also wants to be your next mayor.
The 18-year-old Fort Madison High School senior has officially entered the race for the city’s mayor and will square off against veteran city staffer Melinda Blind, and former councilman and Lee County Supervisor Tom Schulz, and Fort Madison resident Rodney Hoskins on November 4.
Woodsmall, who will graduate from FMHS in May, is the youngest candidate to seek the Mayor’s seat in not-so-recent memory. And he knows that presents specific hurdles and realizes it’s not going to be easy.
“No. It’s not,” Woodsmall said.
“I don’t really know much about Melinda other than she’s been working for the city longer than I’ve been alive. As for Mr. Schulz, I believe he is a very status quo kind of person and I’m very not status quo. I don’t like when things are the same. I’m not a fan of complacency.”
He said he hasn’t seen much coming out of City Hall pointing at the loss of Riverfest, the closure of the Old Fort, no big celebrations other than Rodeo or Mexican Fiesta.
“Those have been happening for God knows how long with little or no change,” he said.
Woodsmall said he’s heard from other residents in the city and family about fixing up the smaller streets like Avenue F and Avenue D and giving attention to the brick roads in the city.
“I don’t believe we can’t work on them just because they're historical. We can restore our historical artifacts,” he said.
With the rehabilitation of business 61 through town, he hasn’t seen much infrastructure work in the less prominent spots of the city.
Having literally no experience in the political sphere, Woodsmall says in today’s political climate he should present himself as a refreshing change to the typical election.
“Some people are risk takers. If there is a fresh candidate with no background and nothing to go off of,  I would say it’s 50/50 if they are going to be a bad candidate or a good candidate and some people just like taking that risk,” he said.
Other people see it as a breath of fresh air. Because there are people with extensive political backgrounds who have been doing largely the same thing their whole political career.”
As far as running an official meeting, he’s had no experience other than a history class his junior year. He has gone to City Hall and spoken with several city officials, including City Manager Laura Liegois and Fort Madison Fire Chief Chad Hannum, however he recognized a learning curve in conducting official city business.
“I’m very good at adapting and changing my plan as it’s happening.”
Woodsmall said he sees himself being more of a ceremonial mayor rather than having the day-to-day staff-driven approach of current Mayor Matt Mohrfeld. However, he said if elected there would be a large learning curve and he would have to adapt to that.
But there were a few issues he wanted to tackle such as police staffing and budget issues. He admitted to not knowing much about the annual budget for the city, but said he had read that the city was facing deficit spending.
“I hear there are places where the city shouldn’t be spending money, especially if there is a deficit. As far as police and fire go, I spoke with Chad Hannum on Tuesday and haven’t had the opportunity to speak with Chief (Cody) Potthast. I do know he is very short-staffed and they are not receiving as much money as they should to maintain staffing levels and be competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the area,” he said.
When asked where the city finds money he said without specifics that wasteful spending had to be reined in and then the city should look for more state grants to help with public safety.
Woodsmall said he felt his chances of winning are small, but he wants to use the election as a gauge to see where the community is at with what he called the status quo leadership. His campaign slogan is “Pride in our Past, Fighting for our Future” and yard signs have been ordered.
“I would look at revisions to campaign strategies and revisions to public outreach. Learning from my mistakes. Obviously, there will be mistakes there to learn from,” he said.
He said he is interested in politics, but his ultimate goal would be to serve as a sheriff.
“After high school, if the mayor thing doesn’t work out, my plan is to go into law enforcement," he said.
“I haven't gotten very far with that, but I’m thinking about a degree in history because you don’t necessarily need a degree to do that. So, I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. Me going to college to get at least a two-year degree is very likely.”
He said most, if not all of his teachers, think he is a bright and talented student with several teachers telling him he should take steps to graduate early. Another teacher told him he had the personality and voice to serve in politics.