At-large council allows all citizens to run for city council

To the Editor,

   I would urge Monticello residents to turn out for the upcoming city election to eliminate the ward system in our fair city.

   As anyone who watches the city council meetings knows, we have had several resignations by council members in the recent past that have required the council to backfill the remainder of the term of those resigning. Often it is difficult to find someone and especially so when the candidate must come from a specific ward; it reduces the possibilities down to a fraction of the citizens of Monticello.

   No other city in Jones County uses the ward system and the council is elected from all available candidates whose only requirement is they live in the city. Earmarking a ward that a candidate is from has no real effect on how the city is run; there are no ward meetings or ward committees.

   What we are asking is that all the council be elected by all of the citizens of the city and that all the council members represent all the citizens of Monticello. This will better allow you to pick the best candidate available for the job and when vacancies occur that need to be filled, all of the citizens who desire to fill a seat will be considered.

Steve Hanken

Monticello, Iowa