“It’s a labor of love, that’s for sure.”
Andrew Cory, Mayor of Elkhart, Iowa
Today’s election day. It’s not the Big One—when voters elect their president and congressional representatives—but for lots of small towns, it’s the Important One—when they elect their mayors.
In Helena, Ohio (population 224), voters are choosing from a smorgasbord of mayoral candidates: five of them. It’s hard to put a finger on why the position is so popular this year. Candidates are running on platforms ranging from minimizing sewer costs to improving community relations, and from spearheading change to maintaining status quo. One candidate simply says he’s running because a bunch of people were bugging him to do it.
In Elkhart, Iowa (population 476), voters got no choice, literally. There are no candidates on the ballot. And that has the current mayor Andrew Cory worried. He didn’t want the job to begin with: he was elected when 55 folks wrote in his name while he was out of town. At the time, Mr. Cory agreed to serve two years. Six years later and still serving, he says it’s time to step down and spend time with his family. Mr. Cory insists that if elected again, he won’t serve. But that’s not stopping at least one resident. Dick Hudson, mayor from 1970 to 1982, plans to write in Mr. Cory’s name. Mr. Hudson says he was persuaded more than once during his tenure to serve another term when he thought he was done.
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