BREAKING — Schickel announces he will not run for another term as Mason City’s mayor

MASON CITY — Mason City’s longest serving mayor made the announcement this morning that he’s not going to seek a sixth four-year term in November.

Bill Schickel made the announcement on social media shortly after 6 o’clock.   “Good morning friends, I wanted to take a minute to let you know I’ve reached a decision not to seek re-election this fall. It’s certainly not an easy decision because I love this job and I’m more optimistic about the future of Mason City than I have been in my lifetime. My initial thought was to run for re-election, but upon further reflection, I came to realize that our very talented and deep bench makes it an ideal time for transition. We have great leaders on our city council, with out city staff, and among our community partners.”

Schickel says he’s more optimistic about Mason City’s future today than he ever has been.  “But as the Psalm says there’s a season for everything, and I’ve been at this for a while, so at the end of this year, this season and this job will come to an end. In the meantime, there’s a lot to be accomplished to make Mason City the best city of its size in the Midwest, and that’s what I plan to work on every day.”

Today marks 5935 days that Schickel has been Mason City’s mayor, having served in three separate periods of time, from 1990 to 1993, 1998 to 2003, and 2018 to the present.

Schickel served three terms in the Iowa House from 2003 to 2009 and decided to jump back into local politics again in August 2015 when he became an at-large councilman, leading to being mayor again in 2018.

(This story was originally published at 6:40 AM and updated with additional information at 7:20 AM & 10:45 AM)