By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph's new mayor, new city council and new municipal judge are officially on the job.
Mayor John Josendale, the eight city councilmembers and municipal judge Theodore "Ted" Elo were all sworn in at the city council chambers at St. Joseph's city hall Monday.
Josendale takes the reins at mayor after Bill McMurray elected not to run again after serving for four years.
Josendale, a lifelong St. Joseph resident and former executive at WireCo and Wire Rope, says he intends to be a leader and representative for all who live in the city.
"No matter who you voted for, or if you voted at all," Josendale said during his inaugural address, "for those of you who I did not earn your vote, I would want to earn your trust. We will listen to and serve all people of St. Joseph."
Josendale expressed confidence in the new council - six first-time members and two reelected. Many on the council are also long-time persons of business, and Josendale believes the group will work well together.
"I look forward to working with our new and returning councilmembers," Josendale said. "Each one of you offers a unique point of view that will make our conversations richer and our decisions more collaborative."
Taylor Crouse was elected to the council in the second district after winning outright in the February primary. After waiting around for two months, Crouse says he's ready to get to work.
"I could've lived anywhere I wanted to," he said. "But, I decided to make my life and raise my family and start a business here in town. It's obvious that I'd like to see this community succeed and everyone succeed who is in it."
Michael Grimm, a retired airline pilot and director of flight operations of more than 30 years, defeated incumbent Russell Moore for the fourth district seat. Like almost everyone else who ran for city council, Grimm cites public safety as a top priority.
"I think the most important thing we can do right now is work on crime," Grimm said. "That's obviously a huge issue. After that is the appearance of the city. Those things go together, so I think we need to work on both of those at the same time."
Kenton Randolph, owner and founder of Randolph Seating and Mobility, says that business experience can be a huge plus when serving the city.
"I own my company, founded it and built my business helping people and solving problems," he said, "and I want to do the same thing for St. Joseph. I appreciate the community for coming out and voting. I just look forward to doing a lot of good things for St. Joe."
Job growth and economic development is also top of mind, according to Andrew Trout - a retired St. Joseph dentist who ran unopposed in the third district.
"We need to bring businesses and jobs back to St. Joseph," Trout commented. "The idea is to bring it back to what it was when I was a kid, which was a great place to live and a great place to work."
Josendale called Monday and the start of his term a great opportunity. He sees it as a time to move forward, but also learn from the past.
"Today, my vision for the city of St. Joe is a city that's changing horses," he remarked. "Many new faces, new ideas and new opportunities. For us to be successful, we need to embrace our history, remembering how we got here."
The rest of the council
Marty Novak and Madison Davis were both reelected to council, with Novak winning an at-large seat after serving the second district. Davis was reelected in the first district.
Jeff Schomburg and Randy Schultz were newly elected to at-large seats.
The ceremony
After a raising of the colors by the St. Joseph Police and Fire Department's Honor Guard, city manager Bryan Carter presented the new city officials, and Judge Elo was the first to be sworn in, followed by the mayor and council.
Outgoing mayor McMurray then presented the mayor's gavel to Josendale shortly after he took the oath of office.
Josendale gave his inaugural address, which was followed by the singing of God Bless America by McMurray and councilmember Novak.
The new council then had their first meeting, which had only two agenda items. The first was to appoint a deputy mayor. The council appointed Randy Schultz to that position.
The second was a resolution, expressing thanks to the outgoing members of council for "their service and betterment" of the city.
"If no one is opposed, this meeting is adjourned," Josendale said after the resolution was approved.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.