‘A heart for this town’

“I have a heart for this town,” Jack Willis said about his run for mayor. “I just want to make a difference. I work with a lot of troubled youth and families now and I just hear issues and things that they say. I just want to see if I can make a difference.”

Willis moved his family to Creston about 20 years ago for a fresh start and for the past four years has been managing Feldhacker’s Family Fun Center. He said he is invested in the community and wants to make a difference.

Experience

Willis earned his GED diploma from Des Moines Area Community College. He has not run for public office previously, but he feels that his time managing Feldhacker’s will be helpful to him in the duties as mayor. Each week he oversees groups of elementary-age students on Tuesday and middle and high school students on Wednesday. He has helped grow the attendance at these programs, with around 20 to 40 attendees each week.

Willis said he has the ability to listen, direct, and step in when needed. He considers himself a “people person” and “dedicated” with the commitment needed to “go after” change and get things done.

Through the center, Willis has had an opportunity to impact the lives of Creston residents, The weekly activity nights are more than just fun, Willis holds discussions about life with topics such as making good choices, staying out of trouble and keeping away from drugs.

The center has also looked to help children in situations where families are working hard to be reunited. Willis said the center allows parents who need a place for supervised visits with their children to use the facility free of charge.

Willis personally transported an area youth to Des Moines for eight weeks in a row to attend a program designed to introduce young people to the realities of what police face in their daily jobs.

He has also prepared for being the mayor by reaching out to mayors in the surrounding areas: getting ideas and beginning to find out how city government works.

Goals

Willis’ plans for improving Creston, if he becomes mayor, involve continuing the street projects, revitalizing uptown and providing more opportunities for things to do in Creston.

Willis feels that it is important to fix the city streets “the right way, not the cheapest.”

His vision for Uptown Creston is to bring back more local businesses. One idea he spoke of is to work with the current owners of buildings uptown to help them provide incentives to give new businesses a chance to start. He also feels that more restaurants would be an asset, both uptown and in the city as a whole.

Willis’ work with the youth of Creston has helped him see that there needs to be more activities available to help keep kids out of trouble.

“A lot of our trouble comes from idle hands,” he said.

He would also like to begin an explorer program, similar to the one in Des Moines, where citizens of any age can experience what law enforcement officers deal with every day.

Willis said the voice of the community sometimes gets lost in city government. He pointed to the power grid that Alliant Energy wanted to place in a residential area.

We went around and we talked to everybody in the neighborhood who would be affected; there wasn’t one person in the neighborhood who was interested or wanted it,” Willis said. “But it kept moving through and moving through. The people who are affected should have the strongest voice.”

Willis feels the use of volunteers, such as groups like Creston Area Little Stuff, is the key to improving the appearance of the city. He would like to see an organization to connect volunteers with those who need help maintaining their homes.

The bond issues

Willis said he feels the three bond issues on the ballot are all good for the community - providing some of those activities he feels are good for both the youth and the economic development of the city.