Parkville Mayor Dean Katerndahl has announced his bid for a second term as mayor.
“My campaign will focus on my record as mayor for the last three years, my vision and projects for the future, and my continued commitment to transparency, public engagement, and integrity,” Katerndahl said in a press release issued late last week.
“When I took office in April 2022 the city had been experiencing several years of turmoil, which had inhibited its ability to get things done and had strained the level of trust that is necessary between the city and its residents,” he said. “My focus upon taking office, along with the Board of Aldermen and the city staff, was to first restore resident trust by pledging our commitment to a transparent government and then putting in place new programs and mechanisms to expand the government’s transparency and increase our engagement with our residents.
“Once we had moved forward on transparency and engaging the public we turned our focus to getting things done. There were a number of issues that had not been addressed and we set to work to address those. Some of these unfinished commitments included such things as hiring our first ever parks and recreation director and getting the US Corp of Engineers to return to the city to turn the ‘dry wetlands’ they left us with into a wet wetlands. Along with the Board of Aldermen and staff we set strategies and goals and began to put in place new programs that would make City government more effective and efficient and enhance Parkville as the place families want to live, shop, play and work.
“I am seeking reelection because I think we have accomplished a lot in the last three years and I wish to continue that work. Also I have a great amount of respect for the aldermen and staff I have worked with and I feel a commitment to continue to support our work to make Parkville the best possible community we can. Finally, I have very much enjoyed (most of the time) talking with, meeting with, and working with residents of the city that share our passion for our community.
“My campaign website, deankformayor.org, contains much more detail about me, what we have accomplished in the last three years and what we hope to accomplish in the next three.”