Voters in Lansing will choose new mayor in March 5 special election

Lansing voters will head to the polls Tuesday, March 5 for a special mayoral election due to the recent resignation of Lansing Mayor Joe Strobel. The polling place at Lansing United Methodist Church, 490 Center Street, will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Candidates on the ballot include Michael Verdon and current Lansing City Councilwoman Deb Volker. The Standard has issued a questionnaire to each of the candidates in an attempt to educate voters about the candidates and their views on Lansing city government. Responses were received from both candidates and are published below.

Please provide some background information about yourself.

Verdon: I've been married 39 years to Marian, and we have three grown children. I founded Trinity Fabricators, Inc. in 1995, Arrowhead Industries, Inc. in 2012, and purchased David Bear, Inc. in 2009. I am a Lansing native who returned in 1986 to raise our family here.
I am active in the Lansing United Methodist Church, where I have served as Lay Leader, Administrative Board Chair, Administrative Council Member, and Sunday School teacher. I have served five terms on the Eastern Allamakee Community School Board. I also served six years on the CIRAS Advisory Board for Iowa State University College of Engineering representing manufacturing in northeast Iowa, and I chaired the Board the last two years of my service.

Volker: I am Deb Volker and our ties to Lansing only go back about 27 years to August of 1986. My husband, Kim, and I left Waterloo to find a more peaceful environment and smaller town to raise our three children in; all of our children graduated from school here in Lansing. I have been an active member of the Immaculate Conception Choir for over 20 years. I also taught Religious Education for almost 12 very fulfilling years. I have worked in Lansing for all but the last two years.
I retired a little over two years ago and have found my community involvement to be very satisfying. I am active with Main Street Matters, have been on our City Council for the past four years and have been very active with our Park and Recreation Board. In fact, we are working on a five-year plan for a new aquatic center.

As the potential Mayor of Lansing, what do you feel would be your ultimate responsibility to the citizens of Lansing?

Volker: My responsibility to the citizens of Lansing as Mayor would be to give them a truly balanced budget and fiscal responsibility. The biggest responsibility is always the taxpayers. None of us should have our own agendas or vendettas as either mayor or council member; no one should ever use their position as a bully pulpit. We need to be good examples to the youth of our community; as a good example I would hope to encourage the young to become involved in our city government.

Verdon: We are responsible to be good stewards of the resources of the residents of Lansing. Stewardship begins with respect for the laws of our Nation and for the Code of the State of Iowa, under which we are sworn to govern. That respect extends to the people who represent the City of Lansing, and more importantly to the citizens of Lansing to whom we are ultimately responsible.

If elected, what would be your issues of highest priority in helping direct city government?

Verdon: No organization can evolve and thrive without growth of the individuals within that organization. Individual growth requires change, which calls each of us to step outside of our personal comfort zone. Instinctively, we fear such change in our lives. A leader’s role is to facilitate change while uniting the team to focus on common goals and objectives.
We need to ask “What’s in the best interest of the City of Lansing?” in everything we do. Cooperation between groups within the community (development and service organizations, school district, etc.) serves to give clarity to those shared visions of what Lansing can be moving forward. We are all stakeholders in the future of Lansing.

Volker: BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET!! As a council, we all need to work very hard to balance the budget. I would like to do it in a way as to not hurt those who are least able to pay; seeing as the economy is not the greatest. I would also like to bring integrity back into the Mayorship and Council. City Government needs to be very transparent and reliable; if you cannot trust your Mayor or Council how can a community move forward as a whole to accomplish anything. There is, in fact, very little reason we need to have any type of “closed session”.

What are the current issues, good and bad, that you see facing Lansing, and what does your candidacy offer in addressing those issues?

Volker: My candidacy offers an understanding of the budget problems that we have right now. We have some red flags that need to be worked out. We also have some issues with the water and sewer department; one of which is whether or not to higher People Services for our water and sewer department or higher a Water Superintendent.
We also may have to raise water bills, which is never a welcoming thought. Again, I would very much like to work towards a balanced budget. I will also work to the best of my ability to bring honesty and transparency back to the City Government.

Verdon: Over the past several years we have seen instances where, in my opinion, some of the decisions made may not have been in the best interest of the City. As is always the case, each action has an equal and opposite reaction. Not only do these incidents “derail the train of progress” for the City but they drain the City emotionally as well as financially. Our job has to be engaging the residents in serving the community, not in maintaining “business as usual” while hoping for a different result.    

In your view, what will it take to allow Lansing to not only survive, but thrive in the future?

Verdon: I have had the opportunity to see a very small portion of planet Earth in my life time. In my travels it has become apparent to me that we are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful areas in all of Creation.
Is this the same Lansing that I grew up in? No, it is now an eclectic community with a diversity that needs to be embraced, not challenged at every turn. When we learn how to engage the entire community, and we put in place plans to join that collective knowledge with the beauty of the Upper Mississippi River Valley, we can create a Lansing that will be a source of pride for all.

Volker: In my opinion, the Mayor and Council will have to work very hard to bring the City of Lansing back into working order. We will need to resolve the water and sewer financial problems and work twice as hard to bring new businesses to our small town. I would also like to see the City become better friends with Main Street Iowa.
I would love to see the Visitors Center come to life; I believe it would be good for our restaurants and businesses. I can see the Visitors Center bringing busloads of school children to learn about the Mississippi River, wildlife, and ecosystem. Perhaps they would love this area as much as I do and want to relocate here. By getting new residents to come to Lansing, we can insure that it would thrive instead of die.