Looks to continue city development

A desire to see the city grow is what brings Steve King back for a second term in the Austin City Council.

“I want to see the city move ahead in a positive direction,” he said. “I have a great affinity for the city of Austin.”

King filed to run for City Council on March 25. He is finishing up his first term as a council member for Ward 2 and currently runs unopposed. He expects the big projects facing Austin right now will easily keep the city occupied for the next term.

“We’ll be pretty busy in the next four years with The Hormel Institute expansion and the flood mitigation program,” King said. The city’s involvement with the community betterment program Vision 2020 could also keep the council’s agenda full.

“I don’t know that with those three initiatives we’ll have room on our plate for any more,” he said.

King highlighted the flood walls that will be put in, including one that will feature a proposed memorial to influential Austin residents of the past.

“I think it’s a neat way to decorate and commemorate,” he said. The program endured some delays while the city acquired the necessary land. Next spring, crews should begin digging up the road, he said.

For the past seven years, King has been director of Mower County Corrections at the courthouse, where he works in probation and parole. Before he came to Austin, he worked for the Department of Corrections in the Twin Cities.

His office was based in St. Paul, but he supervised 14 counties. In total, he has about 25 years experience in the corrections industry.

An Austin native, King graduated from Pacelli High School in 1984 and went to college at St. Mary’s University. He said he was away from Austin for about 20 years, then returned in 2005 and has lived in the city since.

When King first ran for council at the beginning of the present term, he said he didn’t want to go in with a firm agenda of projects or ideas. The same holds true for this term, he said.

“My agenda is to make Austin a better place,” King said. He said listening to the issues and making choices that benefit Ward 2 and people across the city were his top priorities.

King points to his visibility as a city council member as his best means of connecting with the public. He said he has good contact with people living in Ward 2.

“I like to think that I’m fairly accessible to the citizens,” King said. He also plans to allow time for meet-and-greets as election season gets into full swing.

The filing period for all city council seats ends on Tuesday. Currently, there is no candidate running for the Ward 1 seat Brian McAlister will give up at the end of the current term. McAlister has chosen not to run.