Iowa Falls Mayor Mike Emerson was reelected to another term during this year’s city/school election.
Emerson defeated challenger Gene Newgaard by a vote count of 518-499. Emerson was first elected in 2021 and tells RadioOnTheGo News his support staff kept him in this year’s mayoral race.
“You know, the family was leaning towards maybe having me pull that iron out of the fire and I kind of was too. But after some talks with some of our council members and city staff, we just felt like things were moving in a really good direction. And maybe if I ran one more time, we’d kind of keep that positive momentum going. And I relented and agreed to run again, but it’s great. I’m happy to serve the citizens of Iowa Falls. I’m honored. And the fact that they elected me again is a great honor. And I’m very proud to serve the citizens.”
With a few new residential projects already built, Emerson says he wants to build on the city’s recent momentum in expanding affordable housing options in the scenic city.
“We’ve had two new residential developments go up in the last two years. From what the real estate professionals tell me that creates a domino effect. A lot of folks go, ‘well, you’re building all these brand new expensive houses. How does that help with affordable housing?’ And I asked the same question. And the real estate professionals tell me, ‘well, when you build the newer houses, then folks move from their mid range houses up to newer houses. That opens the mid range houses.’ It’s kind of a domino effect. Okay, great. Well, private developers that have come in have opted for those types of houses and town homes. We would love to see a developer come in and put up some more efficiency apartments and things like that. But you don’t just wave a magic wand and have that happen.”
On the Iowa Falls City Council, Steven Klein and Gumaro Valencia were elected during this year’s election.
