Editor’s note: Four candidates are standing for election in November to one at-large seat on the Perry City Council. In order to provide our readers with first-hand knowledge of the candidates, their characters and their ideas, ThePerryNews.com presented them with this short series of questions:
1. Kindly outline for us in brief your educational and professional experience. Where did you attend high school and/or college? What sort of work do you do? In other words, what is your background, generally speaking?
2. What particular qualifications do you feel that you would bring to the job of a city councilor? What qualifications do you believe are generally desirable in a city councilor?
3. What has led you to seek elected office? Have you run for or held elected office before?
4. Are there any particular issues of interest to you or of importance to Perry that have led you to run for office? More generally, what issues do you feel Perry faces today that are of greatest importance? What direction would you like to see the council take? What direction, if any, do you feel the council should not have taken that it has taken?
5. What are you most passionate about when it comes to the public life of Perry? the commercial life of Perry? the social and cultural life of Perry? What is your vision for the town? Where would you like to see Perry be in five years? 10 years?
Candidates were encouraged to answer in their own manners. They were under no constraint to answer all the questions or to follow the order given. ThePerryNews.com did not wish to program their answers in advance but encouraged them to feel free.
ThePerryNews.com offers the candidates’ answers to readers directly and unfiltered.
Ron Leber, 1816 5th St. in Perry, 515-240-2077, medicpfd@aol.com
I was born in Perry, Iowa, at the Dallas County Hospital and was raised in this great community. I am proud to be a citizen of this diversified community. Perry is a great community in which to raise a family.
I attended schools in Perry and Dawson until joining the U.S. Army. I received my education and completed my college degree in liberal arts (general studies) while serving our great nation.
I served in the U.S. Army for almost 20 years, with assignments and training all over the world, for example, but not limited to, (Europe) France and Germany; (Central America) Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala; (Asia) South Korea and Japan; (U.S.) Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Washington, California, Colorado, Alaska and Hawaii.
My military service is where I established my leadership style and my commitment to the service of others. I returned to Perry after my military service as a single parent to raise my son.
I have worked for Mercy Medical Center on seventh south floor for cardiac rehab as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). I worked at the Perry Lutheran Home as a certified medication assistant. I have been for almost 20 years now, along with the fact that, I am presently working for the state of Iowa as a resident treatment worker (RTW) at the Woodward Resource Center for the Intellectually Challenged.
I have dedicated my life to the service of others, with several volunteer services, for example, Perry Firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician, Central Iowa Red Cross Disaster Team, Central Iowa Red Cross Instructor for Professional Rescuers, Central Iowa Underwater Rescue and Recovery Diver, Fire Chief of Bouton, Veteran of Foreign Wars and American Legion.
As the Fire Chief of Bouton, I labored closely with the city council on issues of the fire department as well as issues of the community. I have functioned within the taxpayers budget, never increasing taxes for the community. When I assumed the position of Fire Chief, the department was in extreme deficit, and within a few years the fire department assembled a surplus.
I constructed, with the approval of city council, grants requests, what’s more, receiving revenue from the federal government (FEMA) for disaster relief to assist with rebuilding some of the city’s infrastructure after a disastrous event. I wrote grant requests to other organizations for equipment needed for the fire department.
I worked with the city council and the citizens of Bouton with total transparency to the operations of the department and the funds of the taxpayers.
As the Commander of the VFW, I have had the opportunity to meet several citizens of Perry and listen to some of their concerns about the direction of Perry. Perry has made giant progress in some areas, but we need to make every effort possible to attract new small businesses and renovate the downtown area as well as rebuild or repair the streets throughout the city.
Perry needs to continue to grow in the housing area and also maintain or rebuild some of the unoccupied properties within the city limits.
I will completely devote myself to the improvement of the citizens of Perry as well the advancement of the community, while I continue to maintain my hometown values.
