PCC Staff
KEOKUK - Long-time Keokuk resident Mark Smidt filed nomination papers on Wednesday and formally entered the race for mayor of Keokuk.
The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
“Keokuk has been a wonderful place for us to make our home and raise our kids, and I thought this would be another opportunity to give back to the community,” Smidt said.
Smidt and wife Barbara moved to Keokuk in 2001 when he accepted the position of publisher of the Daily Gate City in Keokuk and the Journal-Pilot in Carthage, Ill. Over the years, he also managed the Daily Democrat newspaper in Fort Madison and the Bonny Buyer shopper.
Smidt briefly lived in Oregon in 2016, managing newspapers there, but he and his wife returned to Keokuk when she was offered the position of market president at First Community Bank, now Two Rivers Bank and Trust.
For the next eight years, he served as CEO at the Hoerner YMCA.
“I have a strong belief in volunteerism and serving others,” he said. “City government has always been an interest, but with my position at the newspaper, running for mayor or council wasn’t possible.
"Since I retired from the YMCA in January, I’ll have the time to devote to the office, and I think I have some skills that can be of use.”
Over the years, Smidt has served on the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce board, including a stint as president; the Keokuk Vision board; the Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Bureau; the Keokuk Area Community Foundation; Keokuk Habitat for Humanity; the library foundation; the Grand Theater Commission; Rotary and Lions clubs, among other organizations.
Smidt and his wife have two children, Laura, who is a race director in Ankeny; and Nick, who is a Keokuk police officer, and four grandsons.
“I’m really excited about this possibility, and I’d be honored by your vote,” he said.
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