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On Monday night, during the Austin City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Stiehm announced he would not be seeking another term.

Stiehm was first elected in 2006 and succeeded another long-term Austin mayor, Bonnie Rietz. We would like to commend Stiehm for his years of service to Austin. For 14 years, Stiehm came to the position with a clear passion for making Austin a better place and that was reflected in some of the praise given him by members of the city council.

Successful government, at any level, requires a team effort if the public’s work is to be done, and Stiehm showed that he would work with all levels to forward the progress of Austin.

“You’re leaving Austin a better place than it was when you came in,” said first-term Councilman Jason Baskin Monday night, as mentioned in Michael Stoll’s story.

There were successes as there were bumps along the way and Stiehm met each one in an effort to always ensure a coordinated effort.

No doubt there were those that disagreed with him from time to time — both on the council as well as in the public — but Stiehm found ways to listen to each side as he worked to make Austin a model community.

We would like to wish Stiehm the best of luck in the future and hope that whoever takes up the seat next will have the same drive to continue making Austin a place worth living in.