Clinton councilman elects not to run for another term

Clinton City Council will soon bid farewell to one of its seat members, District 1 Councilman Daniel Ruggles, who recently announced he won’t be running for a third term.

“As my second term as City Councilman of District 1 comes to a close later this year, I want to take the opportunity to thank each of my constituents for the support and trust you have shown me,” Ruggles said in a release earlier this week. “It has been a great honor to serve our community for these past eight years, and I hope that I had a positive impact on our city. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided not to pursue a third term in office.”

While Ruggles has faithfully served for almost a decade, he stated it was never his desire to remain a councilman for the long haul. As he prepares to step away, he said he felt now was the time, as he was ready to pass the touch to the next leader for Dist. 1.

“Again, it’s been an honor and a pleasure to serve, I have thoroughly enjoyed it and I’ve always liked politics,” he said. “Eight years ago, when I knew that (Steve) Stefanovich wasn’t going to be running and there was to be an open seat, I went for it as it piqued my interest. But even when I got on there, I had no intention, to be a 20- or 30-year city councilman. I’d like to think I’m somebody that’s going to go in with a high level of passion and energy, do what I can, and then pass the torch on to somebody else.

“That said, I like to think that I had a positive impact on the community,” Ruggles added. “I lived in Clinton my entire life, my wife and I live here and we have four kids. My parents live here, and Clinton, this is my home, and I’ve never not lived in Clinton. I’m proud to have been able to serve it these eight years.”

The mayor he’s worked alongside that entire time had nothing but positive words to share.

”Councilman Ruggles is a very nice person, he’s got a very, very nice family, with his lovely wife and beautiful children,” Mayor Lew Starling said. “He has served to the best of his ability and given it 100 percent during his eight years, and he’s worked at it very hard. He called me first, and we had a nice private conversation about him wishing to not run. I know he’s like everybody, busy with children and busy with life. Daniel is a good man, and he’ll be back in some fashion, I can assure you.”

Starling’s gut feeling was spot on, as Ruggles himself confirmed he has no desire to completely leave politics.

“I have no intentions of getting out of politics, zero intention,” he said. “Me leaving city council, it’s not necessarily me getting out for like more time with the family or where I am in life. It’s not really anything like that. I just feel like these eight years I’ve truly given it my all and put a lot of energy and passion into being a councilman.

“I’m just sort of ready to let somebody else take the seat and let them give it their all and I’m ready for the next door that God may open for me politically,” he added.

While Ruggles said he’s ready for the next chapter, he could’ve taken that step at anytime, and the choice to do so was one he contemplated for months. That said, what made now the time he chose to make this move?

“Well, I would say, since the middle of last year, maybe around August or September, I’ve been toying with the idea of not running,” he said. “I’ve been praying about it and talking to my wife, and I made the decision several months ago, that I was not planning to run. I wanted to come out early enough and let people know so it gives others time to figure out if they want to run for it or not. If they do or they have questions they can call, the mayor or other council members or myself, to learn or ask questions before they figure out whether or not they want to run.

“The position, it’s also four-year terms, and when I started, my oldest was 2 years old, and she’s 10 now,” Ruggles added. “If it was a two-year term, I might go again, but, while four years flies by, and even these eight years flew, I just don’t want to commit to another four years.”

Another reason why Ruggles noted he announced his intent not run again was to give those he’s served in District 1 the opportunity to find the right person through competition.

“I like competitive elections and I like it when people have choices, I’m not a fan of appointments,” he said. “I want the citizens in District 1 to be able to have a good election for who they want. So again, if there’s people in District 1 that wish to take my seat, I want them to have a healthy amount of time to figure out if they want to run or not. It’s my hope that there will be competitive election to take place so we have a strong, strong person, that the people of District 1 want to take the seat.”

In his eight years Ruggles was part of more than a few accomplishments as a councilman, while there were many he’s fond of, one stood out as his proudest.

“I really have several, looking back, there’s some things I would definitely do differently, or ways that I may have handled, things differently,” he said. “Even so, probably the most special would be working with the Tucker family and getting the bridge named after fallen police officer Donald Ray Tucker. They came to me and working with them and DOT to get that done with the Tucker family, that would probably number one.

“If I named another, it would be my advocacy for small business and of people in the community,” Ruggles added. “I like to think that I’m extremely pro-business and pro-growth and I feel like I’ve had a positive impact, in terms of openness for economic growth.”

Another of those proudest moments was the new found appreciation he’s garnered for city staff.

“After being on council and seeing the inner workings of the city, I have a greater appreciation for all of Clinton City staff,” he said. “I’ve always appreciated them, but I feel like once you’re seeing it all from the inside, you want to pay everyone for what they’re worth, but you only have so many dollar bills to go around in the budget. So I really have a much greater appreciation of all the city staff.

“I’ve enjoyed working with the mayor and my fellow city councilman,” he added. “We’ve definitely not always agreed on everything but as the mayor has a saying like this, mine is, there’s times when you look in the mirror and disagree with yourself. So again, looking back, there might be a few things that I would have done differently, but overall, I’m very proud of what we’ve done, and I’m just excited for the future and seeing what doors God opens for me next politically.”

Ruggles term ends this year on Dec. 2 and filing for his District 1 seat begins in July.