Schultz seeks another term as Greenfield’s mayor

Editor’s Note: This is another story in a series covering the city/school election Nov. 7.

A focused, team-oriented approach is what Greenfield Mayor Jimmie Schultz credits for the good things that have been able to happen during his tenure leading the town. He is seeking another term in the Tuesday, Nov. 7 city/school election.

According to the Adair County Auditor’s Office, others on the ballot for Greenfield are city council seats currently held by Rod McMorran and Jonathan Christensen. Rita Eble’s spot is also on the ballot because she is filling a vacancy.

Candidacy filing is openg until 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21. City candidates should file with the Adair County Auditor’s Office and school candidates should file with their respective school board secretary.

“I’ve just been mayor going on four years. I’ve been Jimmie for a lot longer than that, but being mayor has been good, and it has been good to intermingle with everybody. I think we needed somebody who would help us become one big team instead of separate, and communication was lacking,” Schultz said. “I think we have it now, finally. It takes going in, talking, saying let’s work together because we all have the same goal.”

Schultz credits the city council members and City Clerk Laura Wolfe for helping to make this shift happen. He also credits the rest of the city staff for their willingness to be part of one team to accomplish town goals.

Other signs this element of unity is happening is the amount of people who feel they can approach Schultz with ideas or concerns. He said frequently people will thank him for what he’s doing, but he passes the credit on to the rest of the team.

“Oftentimes people will thank me, but I’ll say that it’s the council, because we all live here too,” he said. “The communication is much more. People aren’t afraid to even come up and chew my butt. I’ll ask them if they want me to pass it on, but a lot of times they just want to make me aware of it. People like the idea they can approach me and talk to me.”

Schultz, 68, said he’s not ready to give up the mayor seat, saying there’s more work to be done to keep Greenfield moving forward.

“If I get re-elected, I’d like to give four more years, then I’d think hard,” Schultz said. “Hopefully we just keep moving forward, and little by little, get things done that need to be done that have been put off.”

A lifelong Greenfielder, Schultz said he was at first hesitant to run for mayor, but he’s glad he decided to do it.

“I thought I’d give it a try,” Schultz said. “I’m glad I did. I think our community is much happier now than before. That’s what we want.”