Newton’s longest-serving mayor not seeking re-election

Newton Mayor Mike Hansen is not seeking re-election and is saying goodbye to “the most challenging but rewarding full-time part-time job” he’s ever had.

During the Aug. 21 city council meeting, Hansen told council members it was time for him to step away and retire. It has been the “biggest joy” and “biggest honor” to serve as the mayor of Newton, and he encouraged anyone interested in serving their community to get involved. But he warned them:

It’s a lot of work, and it takes up a lot of time.

“But there are a lot of rewards,” he said. “There are a lot of challenges. There are a lot of great things that have happened in this community that I’ve been able to serve in. So, Dec. 31 I’m walking out of here and thanking everybody for all of their support. It’s an honor to be able to serve you year in and year out.”

For the past 22 years, Hansen has served the Newton community as a city council member, mayor pro-tem and mayor. As a Ward 2 council member serving two-year terms, he was re-elected twice and chosen as former mayor Chaz Allen’s pro-tem, which gave him valuable experience on how to run city business.

Hansen was officially elected mayor in the November 2013 election. When he leaves office at the end of December 2023, Hansen will have been the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. Serving the city and identifying the goals of the community was a rewarding experience for Hansen.

Housing was of particular importance to Hansen, especially homes of all types. As a council member, Hansen felt alone in this endeavor and could not get the support from his fellow elected officials. While it was true Newton was a “Maytag town,” there was no real plan to expand housing.

“We were really, really behind the eight ball when it came to housing,” Hansen said. “So I started pushing on Chaz when he was first elected, saying, ‘We need to do this.’ When we sat down and decided we would take a look at what would this look like, it was going to take tremendous time and money.”

Then it was announced Whirlpool was going to buy out Maytag, costing the city its major employer and forcing economic development specialists to look for other manufacturing opportunities, like wind energy, to fill in the space left behind. Newton was changing. Housing fell by the wayside.

After Hansen was elected mayor, he reignited the housing issue and made it one of his main platforms, arguing it was going to be a way to grow the community.

This was emphasized even further when, at one time, Newton’s population was bigger than some areas close to the metro, which have since outgrown the former Maytag town. Hansen said in order for Newton to get the businesses and other amenities it wants, it needs housing. And a lot of it.

“A lot of those Waukees and Ankenys and those places started out as small towns and what have you,” Hansen said. “Newton was larger than any of those towns for many, many years. What made the difference was those other communities started building homes.”

Since taking office as mayor, the City of Newton has introduced its popular housing incentive, pursued a number of different multi-family housing projects and acquired the massive Arbor Estates land to expand its housing opportunities. As a result, Newton’s population is as big as it was back in the heyday of Maytag.

“It’s one of the initiatives that I’m very proud of,” Hansen said. “I’m glad we were able to get a foundation started and continued to build on that.

“And it’s going to take years and years to build on that.”

Another initiative Hansen is proud of is the D&D program, and more specifically the D&D 2.0 program. The D&D program was designed to identify and take down dangerous and dilapidated properties. But the D&D 2.0 program was made to identify and enhance homes that are need in order to keep them on the tax rolls.

Hansen approached city business by asking questions and gathering information.

“What is it that we need to do? What is our assets? What are our liabilities? How do we work through this? Who do we need to get involved? Who are the experts? Who are the volunteers? …Then we put all of the plans together, have a discussion and take it from there,” Hansen said.

Looking back on his time serving the city, Hansen will remember all of the people he crossed paths with who truly cared about their community, like he does.

“We all have worked together and have similar experiences, and we all have had what we believe is in the best interest of Newton in the past and where we’re going in the future,” Hansen said. “That’s what I will remember the most and cherish the most is everybody I’ve had the chance to work with and learn from.

“And to share in the experience of Newton and all that has happened over those 22 years.”