To Be Announced...

After taking the stance he did, I can't say I'm not too surprised...

Cedar Rapids Gazette Online (subscription required): Nieland won't seek re-election

MARION — Mayor John Nieland has decided not to seek re-election in November. Nieland, who noted that he turns 67 on March 2, said Wednesday that by year’s end he will have done his ‘‘civic duty,’’ a run at City Hall that started with six years on the council followed by a four-year mayoral term.

Nieland is well known for speaking his mind, and his decision not to seek re-election comes two weeks after his State of the City address in which he talked about ridding the city of illegal immigrants and the unscrupulous employers in the trades who hire them as carpenters, roofers and drywallers.

Lee Clancey, Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, wondered at the time if Nieland’s message would hurt the effort intended to attract a diverse work force to the Corridor communities in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City metro areas.

Stepping down at the end of the year will show that he is pursuing the illegal immigration problem because he is concerned about it, and not as a vehicle to further ‘‘political ambitions,’’ he said.

Why is it that "political courage" always comes at or near the end of a term in office?

See Previous Post: Nieland WILL Flinch

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Labels: illegal aliens, marion