Longtime mayor set to step down

By Larry Hurrle
Argus Observer
Thursday, September 17, 2009 10:07 AM PDT

Fruitland — For more than a quarter of a century, one name has been prominent when it came to some sort of city government in Fruitland. That name, however, will be absent this November when voters go to the polls.

Fruitland Mayor Tom Limbaugh has opted not to run for re-election and will step away from his role in city government after 28 years. Limbaugh is the longest sitting mayor for the city. He will complete 16 years as mayor when his terms comcludes at the end of the year. Before that, Joe Wozniak was the longest seat mayor at 10 years.

“Twenty-eight years is a long time,” Limbaugh said about his decision not to run this year. “I’ve been thinking about it for the past year. It’s a tough decision. It’s time for a break.”

Fruitland City Councilman Ken Bishop, barring any write-in candidates who should file for election, will be Fruitland’s next mayor as he is the only person who filed for the position. Bishop, 45, said he was thinking about filing even before the announcement that four-term mayor Tom Limbaugh would not seek re-election.

“I had been thinking about it for quite a while,” Bishop said. “I think that Tom has been a great mayor, but there are a lot of issues coming up that this city is facing.”

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Limbaugh was only 24 years old when he began as an appointed member of the Fruitland Planning and Zoning Committee. He and his wife, Connie, had the first of their four children who was only an infant when he began his service. He served on Planning and Zoning for six years before running for and being elected to the Fruitland City Council, where he served for six more years. For the past 16 years, Limbaugh has served as the city’s mayor.

Limbaugh, 52, said his entire tenure with the city has been a positive experience. Though, he said, there have been times with difficult decisions while with the city government, he has seen everything as positive for the city.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “This, truthfully, has been my hobby. I don’t fish. I don’t hunt. This is my hobby.”

Limbaugh chuckled as he spoke of his decision to step down, relaying that some people within the city don’t realize that being mayor was not his full-time job.

“Some people don’t realize I actually have a real job,” he said.

Limbaugh is employed by the State of Idaho as one of three governor-appointed commissioners with the Industrial Commission. He, along with the other two commissioners, regulate the workman’s compensation for the state.

“We’re not the insurance,” Limbaugh said. “We regulate the workman’s compensation.”

Trying to remember any one particular thing that stands out during his time with the city, Limbaugh said it is difficult to pick out just one item. He said he remembers starting with the city, when the city had little or no street department and the public works department was virtually nonexistent.

“Public works was a small group with limited resources,” he said. “I remember when we didn’t have much of a street department at all.”

Limbaugh said Fruitland has seen many successes in the past 20-plus years and he said the small town has, “grown up.”

“The city has had successes in the last 20-some years,” he said. “But when I look at the city, I look back to the guys who helped start this city. Fruitland was built on a good thing and this community has always had great support.”

Limbaugh referred back to the city’s public works department, which has strengthened the city’s infrastructure through the years and said the school system in Fruitland have also been a strong asset to the city.

“This community works well together,” Limbaugh said.

“I don’t think we are in competition with anybody. We have grown and we make things work.”

Limbaugh’s decision to step away from the mayor slot does not mean he will be absent from community service, he said.

“I’m not going to say that I can stay out of public service,” he said. “I’m not leaving the community. I still want to be involved.”