Former Perry Mayor John Andorf returned to city government Tuesday when he was appointed by the Perry City Council to an at-large seat that fell vacant with last month’s relocation of longtime council member Chuck Schott.
“I’m kind of excited to have this opportunity again,” Andorf told the council prior to his swearing in. “I did miss it, and that’s why I’m back. I think I can contribute something. I feel honored taking Chuck’s position. Chuck was such an important part of the city council and the city for so many years, so I feel honored taking that position.”
Council member Barb Wolling moved the resolution, which was seconded by council member Jeremy Mahler, and the unanimous approval was completed by council members Vicki Klein and Joseph Shelly. Perry Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh then administered the oath of office, and Andorf took his seat at the council table.
Andorf was first elected to the Perry City Council in November 2013. He served a four-year term as council member and then three two-year terms as mayor.
A Waterloo native, he started working at the Woodward Resource Center in 1973, rising from caseworker to administrative assistant to superintendent and eventually to treatment program administrator.
Andorf held the administrator’s position at Woodward for more than 30 years and supervised a team of 125 people, including professionals, paraprofessionals and support staff. The job involved a variety of management and policy decisions of the hospital, including working with state and federal inspectors and helping develop priorities within the resource center’s $50 million budget.
Andorf retired from Woodward in 2010. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in counseling from Drake University.
The candidate has lived in Perry since 1977. He and his wife, Linda Andorf, have three adult children. Linda Andorf, now in her third term as president of the Perry Community School District Board of Directors, taught special-needs students in the Perry public school system for many years before retiring.
Tuesday’s appointment will expire after nine weeks, when the 2025 general election is held Tuesday, Nov. 4. Andorf said he is seeking signatures in order to secure a place on November’s ballot in an effort to be elected to a full four-year term on the council.
In other business, the council approved three development agreements with three new businesses locating in or near the Perry Industrial Park. The agreements were with JBS Prepared Foods Inc. for a sausage factory, M&R Properties Iowa LLC for the first of two eight-unit flex-space buildings and A.D.R. Axles USA Inc. for an axle-and-farm-implement factory.
Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson also updated the council on progress toward the city’s application for a Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) grant for traffic-safety improvements to the intersection of Iowa Highway 141 and Soumas Avenue at the entrance to the industrial park.
The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) administers the RISE program, which uses mostly federal funds to award grants for projects that improve economic development in Iowa. The Perry project would also include paving L Avenue, Peterson said.
