Posts in City Council Candidates

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Being the Mayor of North Liberty is not just a job or a hobby for me, it’s my passion. I first became involved in the City about 12 years ago when I was appointed to the Planning & Zoning Commission, after 4 years on P&Z I was elected to a Council seat, Almost 4 years later, I was appointed as Mayor after the resignation of Mayor Franker. Two and a half years after that appointment, I am running unopposed to continue four more years as Mayor.

We have seen many changes over the last few years with the fast growth of the community, trials and tribulations with infrastructure and tension amongst the Council. We have and will continue to correct the infrastructure problems. We have plans in place to move forward with the improvements to Highway 965. Our current Council works well together and has a common vision, to make North Liberty a great place to live and raise a family.

I plan on continuing that vision far into the future with steady, positive leadership. My wife and I have lived in North liberty for 32 years and are proud to call North Liberty our home.

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As a candidate for North Liberty’s City Council, I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the town’s citizens. My name is David Grex. Two years ago, I relocated my family from the Washington, D.C. area to our new home in this community. My wife Sarah, an Iowa native, and I have enjoyed the transition back to the Midwest with our two children, Ryan (23 months) and Payton (7 months).

We made the decision to relocate here for many of the same reasons as most of the families that represent the tremendous growth in North Liberty. We were looking for good schools, a safe community, and a stable economy with growth potential. Like you, we have found those opportunities in North Liberty.

I am running for City Council because I want to see North Liberty continue to grow and thrive, and because my family and I represent the citizens that have led to the rapid growth of this city over the last four years – younger families from outside the area moving into new developments. I believe this segment needs a voice on our City Council, and through my representation, we can work to bring together the ideas of both the established community and the growing population of young working families.

The North Liberty City Council will be my first privilege of holding a public office. However, from my experience in business, I have developed a unique ability to manage people, communicate clearly, and maximize resources. It is these skills that I bring to public office, where the need to listen to constituents, drive progress in the community, and practice fiscal responsibility is paramount. By working toward this end as your City Council member, I am confident our community will continue to grow and thrive.

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As I run for re-election to the NL City Council:

Four years ago North Liberty was in a crisis. Developers were controlling city government and growth decisions. The prior Council voted to truck raw sewage to the treatment plant before a treatment line was installed. The DNR issued 30+ sewage treatment violations. Then a group set out to overthrow the 2005 election results.

We have solved these leadership and infrastructure problems, and I am proud to say that our city is now well run, professionally managed, and fiscally sound. We successfully hired a City Planner to assist with future development, passed needed design standards, instituted “good neighbor” meetings to improve communication as projects come forward, and hired a city administrator who works well with city residents. We formed partnerships with two school districts to bring us enhanced recreational outlets. We have an award winning state of the art sewage treatment plant, and a state of the art well will come on line next year. Other Cities look to our model.

During a second term, I will continue to work on Safe Streets & Sensible Growth. We are at the point where we can have Vision. What can our City become now that the infrastructure and reasonable policies are being put into effect? I look forward to an enhanced highway 965 next year, a third high school in or near North Liberty to develop community spirit, green projects to put into place the Cool Cities Initiative, the development of parks and trails in accordance with our recently adopted parks & trails plan, and expanded city facilities(police, fire, & library) for our citizens.

We have accomplished much together. Our city government is transparent. I look forward to continued progress and working for the citizens during the next four years.

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I was reading the newspaper sometime near the first of August, and I saw an article that the North Liberty City Council elections were coming up in November. This article took me on an information quest. I started reading the minutes from previous city council meetings. I looked at archived newspaper articles. The deeper I dug the more I didn’t like what I was seeing. One of the things that still stands out to me today, is that in many of the previous council meetings the council as a whole voted the same way. I thought that there should be an independent voice on the council.

I am not from North Liberty. I did not grow up here. I am from Springfield, IL. My family and I moved to Iowa almost two years ago after my wife took a position at the University Hospital. I was a police officer in Springfield and wanted a safe place to raise my young daughter. I did a lot of research on the area and knew that North Liberty was going to be a great place for me and my family. I think that my experience in other communities will be an asset to the City of North Liberty.

North Liberty is a growing community. The 2000 census shows the population at 5,367 people. The estimated population in 2007 was around 11,000. That is a 100% increase in just 7 years. I believe in a limited government. Unfortunately the city government is going to have to grow. I support a common sense approach to this growth. I think we need strong police and fire departments. I support attracting more businesses and people to our community.

On November 3rd please send an independent voice to the city council.

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I am running for City Council because I want to see continued, but sensible growth in North Liberty. As a resident of North Liberty since 1990 I have seen many dramatic changes. Our city has quadrupled in population. Our city now has a fine library, community center, and pool along with many new parks and trails. North Liberty has attracted new businesses. There are more schools and partnerships with the school districts have increased recreational opportunities for residents.

This rapid growth has not come without “growing pains,” however. City utilities have needed expensive upgrades to keep up with demand. Traffic congestion is a daily problem, especially on Highway 965. There was also a period of turmoil in city government that lasted for nearly a year that was very counter- productive to the growth of the city.

It was during this time I became more involved in civic affairs. I felt the need to speak out for reasonable growth that did not exceed available city infrastructure. I also supported the city partnership with the Clear Creek-Amana school district to add additional gym capacity to North Bend Elementary to be used by city residents. In January 2008 I was appointed to the Tree and Storm Water Advisory Board. During my time on the Board I have developed a greater understanding of city functioning by working with City staff members.

It is my belief that attracting more business to the city as well as responsible fiscal policies are key to sensible growth. I believe consensus-building among all stake-holders is important in making major decisions affecting North Liberty. Finally, I feel my years living in our city gives me a unique perspective on the past of North Liberty which will be helpful as decisions are made about the direction of future growth.