City Council member Josh Mandelbaum announces bid for Des Moines mayor

Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register
·3 min read

Des Moines City Council member Josh Mandelbaum, who represents the city's downtown core, is throwing his hat in the ring for the city's top office.

Mandelbaum, who announced his mayoral bid Monday morning, told the Des Moines Register his motivation to run for the seat came from the hope to build a better future for his children. He said the top issues he would tackle as mayor include climate, city growth, affordable housing and public safety.

More:Who is running for Des Moines City Council? A look at the 2023 election candidates

"I've got two young kids and all the time I think about their future and what kind of city and state we're creating for them," Mandelbaum said. "I think we're at a critical juncture for our city and we need someone who's going to lay out a bold agenda and work toward innovative solutions and get those things done."

Des Moines City Council member Josh Mandelbaum, who represents the city's downtown core, is throwing his hat in the ring for Des Moines mayor
Des Moines City Council member Josh Mandelbaum, who represents the city's downtown core, is throwing his hat in the ring for Des Moines mayor

The mayor's seat is currently filled by Frank Cownie who was first elected as mayor in 2003 when he edged out Christine Hensley, making him the longest-serving mayor in Des Moines. On Wednesday afternoon, Cownie told the Register he was not ready to make an announcement on a potential bid for re-election for a possible sixth term. He said his priorities currently lie in "immediate responsibilities" such as next year's budget.

Mandelbaum, who is in the middle of his second term representing the downtown ward, says he's helped push forward climate action plans, such as the Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance, a greenhouse gas reduction plan, and housing initiatives such as expanding where to allow accessory dwelling units, which will provide more options.

More:Des Moines sets ambitious targets to lower greenhouse gas emissions, go carbon-free by 2035

He said his role as a council member, as well as his leadership experience serving on boards such as DART, the city's Homeless Coordinating Council and the Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee, have prepared him for the mayoral role.

If elected, Mandelbaum said one of the biggest issues he wants to tackle is how to continue growing the city. Des Moines exceeded its 1960s population for the first time in the 2020 census, he said.

Mandelbaum said Des Moines needs more housing of all varieties and at all price points to meet the needs of a growing community and workforce. He also said he would work to improve public safety by providing more resources to expand its mobile crisis and mental health outreach.

Mandelbaum was born and raised in Des Moines and graduated from Roosevelt High School. He currently works as an environmental attorney at a nonprofit focusing on clean energy, climate and clean water issues.

Four seats on the Des Moines City Council are up for election this year, including the mayor, an at-large member and representatives for Ward 2 in the city's northeast side and Ward 4 in the southeast side.

Candidates can begin filing nomination papers to the Des Moines city clerk on Aug. 28 with a deadline of 5 p.m. Sept. 21. The election is Nov. 7.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: City Council member Josh Mandelbaum announces bid for Des Moines mayor