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Geoff Schroeder makes bid for City Council
Recently retired from a career in the Idaho National Guard, Geoff Schroeder, 41, of Mountain Home, has announced his candidacy for one of the two open at-large city council positions voters will select in elections this November. Schroeder, well-known for his involvement in community service activities in the area, becomes the second candidate to announce for a council position so far.Albert Clement, who heads the local job service office,also has announced. The two council positions up for grabs this fall are currently held by Tom Rist and Mark Russell. Rist,however,is challenging Joe B. McNeal for the mayor's position.Russell has not announced his intentions yet.
Schroeder came to Mountain Home in 1990 and retired from active duty with the Idaho Army National Guard after 21 years of service, including fifteen months of deployment with Idaho's 116th Brigade Combat, serving 11 months in Kirkuk, Iraq. The last two years, he has been the Idaho Guard's regional recruiting supervisor for the ten-county area from Mountain Home to Burley.
In announcing his candidacy, Schroeder noted that he had "recently retired from a very demanding and rewarding job. "I have some skills in dealing with people, some knowledge about city government and city issues and would like to share that with the citizens in their government. "I think it is time to bring back a certain level of civility to the discourse, understanding that two opposing viewpoints can come to an understanding when effective dialogue is used in good faith," he said, addressing the issue of the communication problems between the mayor and the city council. "Obviously, the relationship right now is as contentious as I've ever seen," and that each side has to recognize where their duties, responsibilities and authority lay. "I think I can bring a fresh perspective (to city government) without any baggage."
Schroeder also noted that "I have a good working knowledge of our form of government and many of the issues facing the city and would like the opportunity to help work these out over the next four years," he said.
In addressing the needs of the city, he said that, "for me our excellent quality of life must be the number one priority. While that may sound simple,it really encompasses each of the many parts of our city government. "First comes police and fire protection, obviously.As growth continues, we must stay ahead,and anticipate new needs, so a lag between growth and effective enforcement does not occur." He also noted that "it is cheaper and more effective to prevent crime than to attempt to turn back an entrenched culture of crime. The COPs program is a brilliant example of how this can work. We protect,or improve,our quality of life by ensuring that our precious tax dollars are spent in a fashion that brings the greatest return- in better safety, secure water, beauty, parks, roads, etc. "We also must be more aggressive in combating the insidious problem of methamphetamine addiction," he continued. "Not everyone who falls into this trap is a criminal, but they can quickly become one as the addiction must be fed. I would like to see some more of the city's resources placed into helping people out of the trap, before they become an expensive enforcement problem."
He also believes that transparency in government is crucial to an effective government. "All actions are accountable and on the table. Period. What I say is what I mean, and we tell the truth to the citizens. "The Open meetings Law is not something to be complied with, but to be embraced and interwoven in all actions of the city, with only the lawful executive sessions excluded. "I would like to expand on the notion of 'taking government out to the citizens' with the town hall meetings and the "Coffee with the Council" ideas."
Schroeder has been active in the Mountain Home community. He has been a member of the Mountain Home Lions Club since 1991, is its past president (1998-1999), and is past chair of its scholarship committee. He has served as a member of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee, was the Elks Distinguished Citizen of the year in 2004, was co-chair, co-founder and reorganizer of the current iteration of the Cheer Basket project that serves needy families at Christmas, and is a current board member of that group. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion, and a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Prior to deploying to Iraq, he served as a volunteer instructor for the MHHS Military science class, which he offered to teach when the school district was unable to provide funding for a Junior ROTC program.
Geoff and his wife, Kenda, who teaches music at East Elementary, have been married for 14 years and have three children, ages 11, 9, and 7.