FORT MADISON – Matt Mohrfeld said on Friday there was still too much to be done to walk away from the Fort Madison Mayor’s seat.
Mohrfeld officially turned in his paperwork to run for Fort Madison Mayor’s seat on Friday, saying there was important stuff to finish. And he wasn’t finished.
Fort Madison resident Rodney Hoskins told the Pen City Current last week that he was going to seek the mayor’s chair again in November. Hoskins opposed Mohrfeld in 2019 and 2021, losing by large margins to Mohrfeld. In 2019, Mohrfeld outpaced Hoskins 823-61, and in 2021 Mohrfeld won 565-135.
Mohrfeld’s dominant project over the past several years has been the city’s new marina. Not only is he determined to see that project through, but said restoring the park is also a priority of his.
“We need to get wave one of the marina finished and functioning and the benefit from that’s important,” he said. “It is time the marina gets up and running and we can benefit from the glory of that. There is a wave two in there. We are going to finish the east side of that park. It’s another thing that’s gotta be worked on and we’ll need to be creative on funding there.”
Mohrfeld also established pillars to growth with a goal of adding 1,000 people to the city in the next four years. He said the city had to continue to evaluate barriers to growth and react to them.
He said one of the barriers continues to be housing.
“We’re making small gains with housing, but we still need more doors,” he said.
“There is ground being made but we need to make up more ground. You look around at the curves at places like ConAgra, Siemens, Climax, and on and on. These people want to expand and we have to find the workers.”
Curb appeal and beautification are other high-priority issues on Mohrfeld’s list. That also includes infrastructure and retail expansion. He said the mayor has an integral part in ushering in that progress and setting up systems that will endure.
“I need to be part of that. We need to look at the holes in our business community. The glaring one is hospitality. We need restaurants. I love visiting other towns, and you can’t kid yourself the successful ones have bars and restaurants - and good ones.”
He said no one person can solve all the problems, but leading groups that focus on areas needing improvement is a necessary role of the mayor’s office, Mohrfeld said.
He said the campaign this year needs to focus on specifics.
“When we say things, we are way too generic. Saying we should support economic development, sure anyone can say that, but what does that mean?” Mohrfeld asked.
“We know there are jobs coming, but what are the barriers that wrap around that?”
This year’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Candidates have until Sept. 21 to file nomination papers with the City Clerk’s office. For more information on filing dates and candidacies, visit the following link: https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/3yrelectioncal.html.
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