Marion city council to fill member vacancy Thursday

MARION - Four people have applied to fill a vacancy on the Marion City Council, following Ward 4 Councilman Nick AbouAssaly winning his bid for mayor in November.

With AbouAssaly vacating his seat to take the helm of the six-member council, the city will fill the Ward 4 position through appointment. While AbouAssaly will remain in his council seat until he assumes office Jan. 1, the city council will pick a replacement Thursday. The applicants are: Gerald 'Skip” Johnstone, Brian Miller, Bob Schlegel and Randy Strnad, according to the City Clerk's office. All candidates must be registered voters in Marion and live within Ward 4, which is on the north and northwest side of the city. Under Iowa code, voters can gather signatures to petition the city clerk to have the vacany filed by a special election. The petitition would have to be submitted within 14 days of the appointment. `

Johnstone has lived in Marion since 2012 and served in the Air Force for 21 years. He's worked for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department since 2001 as a firefighter and paramedic.

'I'm just trying to be involved in the process of development in Marion as the city grows, and just seek to do it in a responsible manner,” he said, saying he supports the idea of a mixed-use library project. 'If it's something we can keep a quality library in our downtown and open up opportunities for other businesses in the same building, I'd be open to exploring that.”

Miller has lived in Marion since 2004 and is the CEO of Expedited World Solutions, a domestic and international air freight company, based in Marion. Miller said he wants whoever fills the seat to have the same goals for Marion as AbouAssaly.

This desire led him to apply for the position.

'I wanted to have somebody fill Nick's shoes with the same (ideas) of growth and positive Marion outlook that he had in his two years in the council,” Miller said. 'I believe that Marion is heading in the right direction and is a growing, prosperous city.”

He said he wants to see Marion's business district grow more and see Seventh Avenue filled with stores.

Schlegel, 78, has lived in Marion since 1960 and worked for 34 years for Rockwell Collins. He retired in 1994 and became a realtor, retiring from that job in July. In his application, he indicated support for the Marion Public Library Board of Trustee's mixed-use library project, calling it much needed, exciting addition to the city.

If appointed, he said, he wants to address three issues: solving what he calls the police department's lack of enforcement of the city's noise ordinances, eliminating conflicts of interest on city boards and commissions, and improving communication between the council and its constituents.

'I know we've got a lot of challenges, and I've for the time (to address them,)” he said.

Strnad has lived in Marion since 2000, and moved his insurance company to the city in 2003. He owns Randy Strnad Insurance, Inc., where he also works as an insurance agents. He's also a volunteer firefighter with the Marion Fire Department. In his application, he expressed support for Marion's Blue Zone initiative, which, among other goals, aims to make the city one of the healthiest in Iowa by encouraging healthier options at schools, businesses, and restaurants. He said as a businessman, he would bring a new voice to the council.

'I want to represent not only the rest of my ward, but the community businesses in the city of Marion,” he said. He said he wants to work on bringing in more industry to balance the economics of the city.

The appointee will fill the remainder of AbouAssaly's term, which ends Dec. 31, 2017.