Meghann Foster to run for Coralville mayor

CORALVILLE — A Coralville City Council member will seek to become the community’s first female mayor.

Meghann Foster announced Friday that she is running for the open mayor seat in the fall election.

Coralville Mayor John Lundell announced this week he will not seek a fifth term.

“Mayor Lundell has been a role model of leadership and community service,” Foster said in a statement. “If elected, I hope to continue my work of making Coralville a great place for everyone who calls it home.

“We have a lot to be proud of in Coralville,” she added. “We’re making progress, but we’re not done. We have to continue to look for ways to expand our community’s programming and services. I’m excited about the prospect of setting this vision as mayor of our community.”

A 20-year Coralville resident, Foster, 45, was elected to the city council in 2017. She is the community engagement coordinator for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program and an educator at the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“The significance of potentially being Coralville’s first female mayor isn’t lost on me,” Foster said in her statement. “We have a history of strong female leadership in Coralville — from Caroline Nelson in 1954 to Diana Lundell and Jean Schnake to my current council colleagues Jill Dodds, Laurie Goodrich, and Hai Huynh.

“Along with countless female staff and department heads, all have worked to make Coralville better and more reflective of its citizens,” she said. “However, in our city’s 148-year history, we’ve never had a female mayor. I’m ready to change that.”

Foster serves on the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County and the Johnson County Juvenile Justice and Youth Development policy board.

The city election will be Nov. 2, and the mayor and three council positions will be on the ballot, according to the City of Coralville’s website. Terms begin Jan. 1, 2022. Johnson County has not yet announced the schedule for early voting.

The mayor is paid $700 per month, and city council members are paid $350 per month, according to Coralville city code.

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