After 20 years in public service – current city councilmember and former Mayor Bob Sheckler announced his retirement at Thursday night’s Des Moines City Council meeting (March 26).
Sheckler, who was Mayor for eight years, will not run for re-election for Position #6, where he has served since Jan. 2012.
He has served on the City Council since 1996, served as Mayor Pro Tem for two years, and according to city records, was the longest-serving Mayor in city history.
As Mayor, Sheckler worked to protect the people of Des Moines from the negative environmental effects of the airport, including toxic runoff and noise pollution.
He was also instrumental in getting the new $45 million Artemis Hotel built on Pacific Highway South, helping Chinese investors wade through the bureaucracies of visas and paperwork to start construction on the luxury hotel, which is slated to be finished sometime this year.
Asked what he’s going to do next, Sheckler told The Waterland Blog that he might “just go hang out on a beach in Hawaii for a while, and relax!”
Good luck Bob!
To read our previous coverage of Sheckler’s career, click here.