Longtime South Sioux City councilman resigns
By Nick Hytrek – Sioux City Journal, Iowa (TNS)
SOUTH SIOUX CITY — After serving more than two decades on the South Sioux City Council, Jason Bowman isn’t sure what he’s going to do with his Monday nights now that he no longer has city council meetings to attend.
“There’s going to be some free time now,” said Bowman, who resigned from his seat after the Dec. 23 meeting, a month after winning reelection.
Bowman was first elected in 1996 and kept winning reelection. The one exception: he didn’t seek re-election in 2008, when he instead unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Nebraska Legislature. He returned to the council two years later and remained with a group of elected and city officials he said has been dedicated to improving the community no matter what their personal political affiliations were.
“It was never about politics. It was about doing the right thing,” Bowman said.
The decision to step down was a hard one, Bowman said. He and his wife, Erica, had decided to sell their South Sioux City home and, unable to find another one there, have purchased one in Sioux City. The upcoming move would make Bowman ineligible to continue to serve on the council. His work requirements at Mark One Electric also kept him on the road more often, sometimes making it hard to attend council meetings.
“It’s hard to step down, but God opens and closes doors and my wife and I talked it over and decided to walk through this door,” Bowman said.
Bowman said he saw a lot of progress in South Sioux City during his 26 years as a councilman. Among the developments he’s proud to have been involved with as a councilman are the development of Siouxland Freedom Park and the construction of the city’s first wastewater treatment plant, which opened in 2023.
The council plans to fill the vacancy left by Bowman’s resignation at its Jan. 27 meeting. South Sioux City residents interested in serving the remainder of Bowman’s four-year term may obtain an application in person from the city clerk’s office at 1615 First Ave. or by phone at (402) 494-7503. Applications must be returned to the clerk’s office by noon on Jan. 20.
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