Election results point to Postville recovery, healing Mayor Rekow seen as 'inclusive'

POSTVILLE - Leigh Rekow's election as mayor Tuesday may signal a return to a more welcoming attitude toward Postville's immigrants.

It certainly reflects the community's belief that the former state representative and City Council member can lead Postville's recovery from the May 2008 immigration raid that split families and nearly shuttered the town's leading employer, kosher meatpacker Agriprocessors Inc.

Rekow, who was appointed in April to serve as mayor after Robert Penrod resigned, garnered 193 votes in Tuesday's election - well more than half the votes in a three-candidate race.

Melvin Cook, who also had sought the mayoral appointment in April, finished second with 148 votes, and City Council member Jeff Reinhardt, a one-time critic of some of the city's ethnic groups, finished a distant third with 16 votes.

Of Postville's 930 eligible voters, 347 (or 37.3 percent) cast ballots in the municipal election, according to the Allamakee County Auditor's Office.

Rekow's wide margin over Reinhardt indicates the community's willingness to put aside its differences, said Aaron Goldsmith, a former City Council member and a leader in Postville's Jewish community.

“People see Reinhardt as divisive and Rekow as inclusive,” said Goldsmith.

Goldsmith said

Reinhardt embarrassed the town with a 2006

letter to the Postville Herald-Leader in which he disparaged prominent ethnic groups within the community.

Reinhardt wrote that one group of Postville residents “wants to isolate itself, by dressing a little differently, keeping their children out of our public schools and wanting a different day for the Sabbath.”

Another group, he wrote, “sends money back to other foreign countries and brings with it a lack of respect for our laws and culture which contribute to unwed mothers, trash in the streets, unpaid bills, drugs, forgery and other crimes.”

City employees, in their own letter to the newspaper, repudiated Reinhardt's position.

Reinhardt said he fared poorly in Tuesday's election because he “didn't run very hard.”

The Rev. Steve Brackett, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and a leader in the effort to help victims of the raid, said Rekow's victory confirms that most residents want to move forward.

“Some people would like to return to the days before Agriprocessors, but it's not going to happen,” Brackett said.

Rekow expressed confidence that Agri Star Meat and Poultry, the company formed from Agriprocessors' bankrupt assets, would hire another 200 employees early next year when it resumes processing beef.

The company is electronically verifying employees' legal status and implementing safety programs, said Rekow, who expressed satisfaction with the “open lines of communication” between city and company officials.

“Things are looking up for Postville,” he said.