COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh is spending his final full day in office on January 1. He sat down with KMTV to look back on his career.
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"Politicians have a shelf life. At some point, they get tired of lookin' at ya," Walsh said, reflecting on a 30-year public service career that began when he first ran for city council in 1995.
"Council Bluffs was suffering through similar times as Omaha was, where the downtown was deteriorated," Walsh said.
He is only the second elected mayor in the city's history under the strong mayor system, which started in 1988. Before that, mayors were appointed by city council.
"My first official act was to ride the first riverboat that came to Council Bluffs," he said, of the casinos opening along the river.
After serving three terms as mayor, Walsh said his thoughts are with the city employees he's leaving behind.
"I'm gonna miss 'em. I'm proud of 'em. I know they'll do a great job for the next mayor of Council Bluffs," he said.
Unlike most other large communities in Iowa, Council Bluffs does not have a professional city manager. Those duties fall to the mayor.
"This job really is a business manager job. It's not a political philosophy job. It's running the day-to-day operations of the city," Walsh said.
Looking back on his accomplishments over three decades, Walsh highlighted rebuilding parks and West Broadway, constructing a new police station, and maintaining fiscal responsibility.
However, his big-picture focus on growth, particularly a controversial proposal to turn Riverside Golf Course into a development, appears to have contributed to voters choosing his successor in a close election.
When asked about the pain of losing such a tight race after expressing his love for Council Bluffs many times, Walsh said, "Yeah. Well it is."
Former Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, who also failed to secure a fourth term, offered him some friendly words.
"We sat down at a dinner party together and she said to me, 'Matt, it's not all that bad,'" Walsh said.
Walsh said he's looking for opportunities in the private sector where he can still make a difference for the community he's served for three decades.
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