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Perspectives on the 4th Ward council race

Two candidates have stepped forward to run for the open 4th Ward seat. This time the council chose election rather than appointment to fill the vacancy as in the past (overturned by petitions). Each has presented background, education, experience, and focus on carrying on the service and leadership offered by the ate Al Hoop as potential assets to offer the community. Successful process improvement first focuses on what the community needs NOW to define current roadblocks and solutions to provide a firm and sustainable foundation for progress and growth to achieve objective, ...

In support of the qualified candidate for 4th Ward

After attending the debate for the council seat in the 4th Ward, there is no question in my mind on who is the most qualified. Mark Eaton is the one I would vote for if I were in that ward. He has the experience in his favor, and is very knowledgeable of the needs in this community to make it thrive, and he knows how to balance a budget and put us back on track for future growth. He has studied the council on city issues and has attended the meetings for years, and cares about the people who live here. Right decision making starts on the local level, so please cast your vote for him on ...

Fonseca will support growth and prosperity

As a 4th ward resident and as a previous nurse and now leader in healthcare in Marshalltown my entire career, I was asked by city leaders to consider running as a candidate for the special election to complete Al Hoop’s term. While I certainly appreciate the vote of confidence, when I learned that Melisa Fonseca was willing to have her name on the ballot, I decided to keep my name out of the race, and support her candidacy. As a long time resident and business leader who has volunteered time on multiple community boards, I am certainly interested in keeping our city going in the ...

4th Ward vote

Given our Thursday evening hire of a new city administrator and the Friday letters to the editor about candidates, including one by a city councilman and one by his partner, I need to weigh in about the 4th ward vote this coming Tuesday. The vote is to replace Al Hoop, with whom I have been the longest person serving with him during his years on the council. Al had a positive attitude, a heart of gold, and a history of donating his time and money to help our city. His replacement should have those qualities. When Al was still alive, the eight of us sitting at the council table were ...

The malls need cleaned up

The malls on the south side of town need to be cleaned up. The City of Marshalltown is a non-profit corporation. This is why in government circles it is called an “incorporated” area as opposed to the “un-incorporated” area that we call the country. Other than Marshalltown, there are several incorporated areas in Marshall County: LeGrand, Haverhill, and Laurel to name a few. Every incorporated area has some form of rules, aka laws, that individuals and businesses must follow. These rules are called ordinances. They are published on the City’s website under the City Code of ...

Why vote for Mark Eaton?

My fourth ward friends and neighbors, why do you need to vote? You will make a huge difference in the direction Marshalltown’s future will take. Will our future be a continued recovery taking a conservative approach with a focus on infrastructure? Or will our future be a return to excessive spending and the pursuit of the nice to haves (amenities) wanted by special interest groups while our community’s need to haves (infrastructure) continues to suffer? As a female business owner, I have been attending council meetings, forums, researching and discussing issues with Mark ...