New Hope Mayor John Elder Takes Over With City in Good Shape
Mayor John Elder took over this month after 16 years as a city council member.
Former New Hope Mayor Kathi Hemken shakes hands with Mayor John Elder at the first city council meeting of 2025.
“I didn’t want to run against Mayor (Kathi) Hemken,” said Elder. “When she advised me she was going to step down and she wanted me to run. That was very, very rewarding.”
Elder takes over at a point where he says the city is showing real strength in a number of areas.
“We’ve moved away from bonding on projects, and that means we’re not doing absolutely everything we want to do,” he said. “We’ve seen other cities move to a ‘pay-as-you-go,’ and they’ve completely spent down their reserves to 20 percent. Right now we have a very healthy reserve and it certainly meets the state guidelines, so the fiscal responsibility of the city is important. We have a fair number of residents who are on fixed incomes, and I’ve heard them loud and clear that they don’t want to be priced out of their homes, so that’s a real personal thing to me. We’re seeing a lot of neighborhoods turned over, so parks and rec is important to have the programming. Our public works is outstanding, the work that they’re getting done, and the fact that you’re not seeing the problems. Our road maintenance program is fantastic.”
Elder said the city has much to offer anyone who lives, works, or plays there.
“There are so many things that make New Hope stand apart, whether it’s the jewels we have in park and rec, the Ice Arena, which brings in national tournaments and national scouts, whether it’s our nine-hole golf course, which I constantly receive great feedback on, and our aquatic center,” said Elder. “All of that brings people in, all of that provides great services to our residents.”
