Former Iowa City Council member running in this year’s election

IOWA CITY – Jim Throgmorton served a couple of years on the Iowa City Council in the mid-1990s. Now he's trying for a full term.

Throgmorton, 66, of 714 N. Linn St., has announced he's running in this fall's election in the council's District C, which covers the central and northern portions of the city.

“We are lucky to live in a terrific small city, but we face some significant challenges over the coming years, and I think I can really bring some capacities to bear on those to help this become an even better place,” he said Thursday.

Throgmorton, a retired University of Iowa professor of urban planning, said those challenges include increased economic competition from nearby cities, the state possibly lowering commercial property taxes and taking advantage of a more diverse city population.

He's also excited about the opportunity to redevelop the area south of downtown called Riverfront Crossings into a dense, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. He hopes high-speed rail is part of those plans, although the funding for the project is in doubt.

He said he has been meeting with current and former city and school officials to help identify issues the city is facing and wants to talk with other groups around town before laying out his ideas for taking action.

Throgmorton joins Dan Tallon as a candidate for the District C seat being vacated by Regenia Bailey. Tallon, 22, ran for City Council in 2009 and is currently deployed in Afghanistan with the Iowa Army National Guard.

Four seats in all are up for grabs in the election. Mayor Matt Hayek, an at-large member of the council, is the only incumbent seeking re-election. Rick Dobyns, a doctor at the UI who lost a bid for a council seat in 2005, is running in District A.

Candidates can file the paperwork to run for council starting Aug. 15.

Throgmorton was elected in 1993 to fill the remaining two years of a vacant at-large seat on the City Council. He chose not to seek re-election in 1995 because his father's health was failing.

His personal circumstances are much different now, and he wants a shot at the full four-year term on the council.

“We have the opportunity to make this a much more resilient and sustainable place, but that means taking the challenge of global climate change and peak oil seriously,” Throgmorton said.