Get up to speed on IC's southeast side

Gazette Editorial Board

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Three Iowa City Councilors stepped down last month to make room for their recently elected successors.

The change marks a noticeable loss of institutional memory: Mike Wright served one four-year term, Regenia Bailey served two. Ross Wilburn had represented the sprawling District A since 1999.

A lot of attention also has been paid to the loss of diversity on the council now that Wilburn, who is African-American, Wright, who is gay, and Bailey, a woman, have stepped down from the dais in Emma Harvat Hall.

Both Bailey and Wilburn have served as mayor. All three councilors chose not to seek re-election this term.

We think it's true that councilors' unique perspectives informed by personal experience can add much value to council discussion and decision making.

Of course, incoming councilors - Michelle Payne, a 45-year-old MidAmerican Energy supervisor and non-traditional student, Jim Throgmorton, a former council member and retired University of Iowa urban planning professor, and University of Iowa Physician Rick Dobyns - will be able to draw on their own unique experiences and strengths to help inform their work on behalf of the city.

And we think the most important loss of first-person perspective on the council this year might not be gender, race or sexual orientation, but in having a resident's view of issues concerning Iowa City neighborhoods south of Highway 6.

Iowa City's District A includes neighborhoods south of Highway 6 and most of the city west of the Iowa River.

Wilburn was the only council member who lived in that sometimes-troubled and often misunderstood part of town. Now that he is gone, no council member has a neighborhood-eye view of issues of concern in the area.

And while we're certain that Wilburn's successor, Dobyns, who lives on the city's west side, will be a competent council member, he and his newly elected colleagues will have to work hard to get up to speed on concerns common to the southeast side.

They and returning council members will have to be careful to draw on others' experiences, to get to know the area's residents to make sure the city doesn't lose ground on the gains it's made so far in addressing the housing and public safety concerns that have been common to the area.

And they must remember to actively seek the information they'll need to govern in ways that will benefit the entire city - not just the neighborhoods and streets with which they are most familiar.

This year's council might not be as diverse as it has been in past years, but that's no excuse to neglect issues of importance to Iowa City's diverse constituents.

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