Our endorsement for Marion City Council

The Marion City Council race appears to be a referendum on the city's ongoing development. Only one candidate appears unwilling to summarily dismiss the needs prompted by the city's growth or the related concerns of longtime Marion residents.

Luckily, since it is clear a strong and thoughtful voice is needed to guide the council, staff and residents and to steer Marion's growth without leaving residents feeling disengaged from their own city's future, this candidate is seeking the mayor's office.

Joe Spinks has grasped this role, refusing to demonize either side of the development divide and positioning himself as a consensus builder. For this, he earns our only Marion endorsement.

Marion is a community blessed with both population growth and a predominantly healthy mix of commercial and residential properties. Far too few Iowa communities can boast the same.

City staff members, working with local and regional economic development interests, have made a number of proposals to improve streets, recreational opportunities, neighborhood zoning and public services, such as the library and police station. These changes generally have been good for the community, as a whole.

But it's clear that some Marion residents feel shut off from the process. The new police station was not brought before voters. There's a fear that history will repeat itself with a proposed new library facility.

No doubt it is smart for city leaders to develop a future vision for the community and plans toward that goal. Pushing forward with those plans absent any direct public investment, however, is foolhardy - especially in a community where so many new residents aren't engaged in city discussion, and where so many longer-term residents no longer believe their voices are wanted or make a difference.

Growth dictates that Marion never again will be the same town it was even a decade ago. But that doesn't mean the things that historically have drawn people to the community should vanish or be set aside in favor of a new image or brand developed by a select few.

It's time for the community to come together, and for city leaders to engage residents in real discussions about the city's future.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com