Mayoral candidates spar over city issues

FORT MADISON – A forum for the upcoming city election helped provide a little separation of candidacies prior to the upcoming Nov. 7 City/School election.
Incumbent Mayor Matt Mohrfeld said the city is better now than it was four years ago when he took the mayor’s chair. He’s challenged by Rodney Hoskins and Fort Madison businessman Jerry Reuther.
Also part of the forum sponsored by Fort Madison Partners was the at-large council seat candidates including incumbent Kevin Rink and challenger Jerry Hamelton.
Hamelton and Hoskins have both been on ballots in the past, but neither has ever secured enough votes to be elected or appointed to a seat.
Hoskins said he is running again for the mayor’s seat because the community needs a little better leadership. Reuther said he wanted more stuff in town, “and that’s pretty much it.”
“I’m tired of running out of Fort Madison for things to do with the family, and that’s pretty much it,” Reuther said.
Mohrfeld thanked the residents for letting him be the mayor for the past four years, but he quickly deflected the successes over that time to the city staff, the community, and the councils he presided over.
“We’re better today than yesterday,” Mohrfeld said. “Are we better now than we were four years ago when I took the helm. In my opinion we are better and we should be better tomorrow than we are today.”
In carrying the theme, Mohrfeld said at the end of the forum that those who don’t think Fort Madison is better today than when he took over as mayor, should pick a different candidate.
Hoskins focused his comments on the city’s history and getting back to those priorities.
“What I disagree with is basically our government. We disinherited the fort. The fort is our historical piece. It’s part of our heritage. We had a historian in here offering grant money and offering to restore it. We don’t need to say yes yes yes. By the time it’s said and done, we’re using tax dividends to support these things,” Hoskins.
Hoskins stumbled through many of his answers to questions, prompting a barb from Reuther during the debate.
“Rodney, you just confuse the s#*t outta me,” Reuther said.
But Reuther himself struggled to answer several of the questions posed, including city budgets.
“I haven’t been following it that close really. Basically the agendas are about approving alcohol permits,” he said.
Mohrfeld laid out past accomplishments over the last four years including the city’s newly finished marina project. The private company that is building and operating the hospitality center is about six months away from opening that component of the project.
But he said the Mayor has no vote, so he’s been happy with most of the decisions that have come in front of the council.
“I agree with them all,” he said slightly tongue in cheek.
“I have conflict with some of them, but as a mayor, you don’t get a vote. You steer the ship, but you don’t have a vote. There are some I didn’t agree on where they landed, but I think our council is educated and our staff is educated.”
Mohrfeld disagreed with Reuther’s assessment that there weren’t enough things in town for families to do. He listed off about a dozen events that take place in the community and said people need to get out and do those things.
“Is the question as simple as nothing to do, or are we not doing it? Is it the role of government to create more things to do… some. If we think driving to Burlington to go roller skating is prohibitive, I disagree,” he said.
“What we have to do is mentor into a population to get off their butt, if you will, and go do something.”
Hoskins said the city should partner with the schools to find more activities for the families.
“I would love to see city officials get involved in that, too. We’re a small town but it’s the mentorship of small communities. Kids text all the time, maybe we should have a texting competition to see how many words you can type.”
Hoskins also said events shouldn’t have to always be centered around alcohol, saying 90% of the mayor’s list of events in the community involved alcohol. Mohrfeld challenged Hoskins to mark on his list the events that involved alcohol.
Reuther said a few suggestions could revolve around skating rinks or bowling alleys and arcades, like he has put in his business on the city’s west side. He owns Boba Bubbles and Steam Demons Vape Lounge.
“There have been a few changes and I’m not hell bent on a bowling alley or skating rink. I’m not saying that is the best option either,” Reuther said.
“But being out, being social, and being part of the community. You’re not going to get there staying home playing video games. We put an arcade out there and that seems to be picking up. They’re just suggestions, I guess.”
One of the questions centered around new state property tax laws and the impact the law will have on the city’s ability to tax for services.
Reuther said he’s not in favor of raising taxes.
“I don’t agree with the tax hikes. I don’t see our roads getting better, getting more firefighters, more police officers, so, no, I don’t agree with that,” Reuther said.
Hoskins said the city should look to its constituents for donations to help fund some city functions.
“If we're raising taxes to cover something for the city, I would feel like you should go to your constituents, and you’d be surprised about what they’d be willing to donate.  Maybe you could get a good salvage part from a dealership,” he said.
Mohrfeld said the state, under the new law, didn’t just cap property taxes, they, in essence, lowered them.
“We had a safety level and that’s going away, too,” he said. “It’s terrible so how do we react to it,” he said. “We have to do some progressive things to realize growth, but in the short term, we have to prioritize. We’re meeting with legislators, and we haven’t been told what the impact of this legislation is.”
Living in the rural part of the state is a unique challenge in Iowa, Mohrfeld said. And the city shouldn’t be looking to the state for help.
“We are down in the corner of the state, and we are forgotten about, and river towns are the oldest challenges,” Mohrfeld said. “We need the attention of the state. But guess what, we’re not going to get it. So what we have to do is band together as a region in SE Iowa.”
Hoskins said that can be overcome by the people.
“It’s the people of Fort Madison that makes Fort Madison. Our state government cannot make that happen.”
Reuther said it’s a matter of getting to work.
“Strap ‘em up and go. Work hard and get noticed.”
All three candidates agreed that the city should take a bigger role in beautification. Mohrfeld said infrastructure is where the city can be engaged with beautification.
“We cannot look like a worn-out old town. We need to look at our curb appeal and what people feel like walking through town,” Mohrfeld said. “We have work that needs to be done end-to-end.”
He said public-private partnerships are the fastest way to get things done.
Reuther said the city should be more involved in the beautification process.
“We got people coming off the boat during the summer. I was going through town, and they were literally driving around central park. Yea, I think we need to do more for beautification. That would help,” he said.
Hoskins said the city should be focusing on its history and how funding could be used to help rejuvenate the Old Fort and some of Fort Madison’s history. He said the city should repair what is the city’s responsibility to repair.
“The city’s sidewalk is the city’s sidewalk for a reason,” he said.
Hoskins said his best attribute is his integrity. He said his time in Fort Madison gives him a good perspective of what the community needs.
Mohrfeld said his experience in community government and his family’s legacy are important attributes, but it’s his ability to bring people to the table that may be his greatest value.
Reuther said owning six businesses locally and in Ohio, gives him the experience required to oversee the city’s business. It’s his first time appearing on a ballot.
Polls open at 7 a.m. on Nov. 7.