Iolans David French and Kendall Callahan completed the roster of hopefuls seeking seats on the new Iola City Council to be seated in April.
French, seeking a seat in Ward 4, and Callahan, a Ward 2 hopeful, filed shortly before Tuesday’s noon deadline.
French, 50, is the sixth candidate to file from the 4th Ward, which encompasses much of southeast Iola. He is opposed by Richard Gilliland, Jerod Kelley, Ken Rowe, Gary Wells and Jim West.
Callahan is the fourth candidate from Ward 1, which covers the northwest quadrant of the city, joining Steffen Centlivre, Nancy Ford and Scott Stewart.
When Iolans go to the polls April 5, they will select two council members from each of Iola’s four wards.
There are four candidates for Ward 2 — Beverly Franklin, Melinda Luttrell, Dana Moodie and Joel Wicoff; and three from Ward 3 — Don Becker, Jim Kilby and Eugene Myrick.
Three candidates are hoping to become Iola’s next mayor: Bill Shirley, Linda Sigg and John Smith.
Deb Troxel is the sole candidate to become Iola’s next city treasurer, a position she already holds as an appointee.
FRENCH, 50, grew up in Allen County, lived for 18 years in Topeka and then jumped at the chance to return to his roots six years ago.
“I really didn’t like the big city life,” he said. “I liked what Iola had to offer.”
Originally a deputy with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, French moved to Topeka to work for the Kansas Board of Healing Arts as a medical investigator.
“The opportunity arose, through computers, for me to move back home and continue my career, so I did,” French said. He’s now in his 24th year with the agency.
In Iola, French sees a city with issues — curbing its steady population loss and finding more employers are chief among them — but also a community with potential.
French has served as a board member with Hope Unlimited and has been active in Boy Scouts and with his church.
He also convinced his two children, now grown, to move to Iola as well. Son Jacob works for the Iola Fire Department. Daughter Kristen works full time at Gates Corporation and plans to re-enroll at Allen County Community College.
“I know if people can think outside the box, we can turn this around,” he said.
CALLAHAN, 47, owns a grocery store in Coffeyville that he manages from an office in Iola. In addition he owns and manages various commercial properties.
“There are things we do very well, and there are things we can do better,” Callahan said. “We need to control our spending, but not to the point that it prevents us from growing.”
With the council likely to feature mostly newcomers, Callahan noted that getting abreast of city issues rapidly will vital.
“If elected, I know I will put in the time and energy to get the information we need to make good decisions,” he said. “We will definitely need to hit the ground with our feet running.”
Callahan counts his business experience — “I’ve been dealing with customer and employee relations nearly all my life,” he said — as a plus.
“I want to get a feel for what the people are concerned about, and a feel for what the employees are concerned about,” he said. “They’re the ones who are involved with the day-to-day operations.”
