One of the platforms Mayor Robert L. Butler ran on in that first election in 1963 was a promise to take care of Marion’s chronic flooding problem. It was to his advantage that just before the primary, the town’s streets filled with water after a storm. Water was four feet deep at the four-way stop and much of the city was drenched.
After being sworn in, Butler was determined to do something about it. He worked to find a solution while, at the same time, he tried to reduce the city’s deficit It was the mayor’s first lesson in municipal problem-solving, a trial and error process that makes his 50 years of experience invaluable today.
Eventually, federal funding came available for a $6 million project.
The mayor has jokingly said the flood problem is one of the reasons he’s stayed in office so long. “It took me 25 years to make good on that campaign promise ” he once said.
Now, at age 86, the mayor has said his current term will be his last,
“I feel surprise as much as anything and of course considerable gratification to have the confidence of the people of the community,” he said.
Butler said he has been happy with how Marion has evolved throughout his career as mayor.
I’ve been certainly pleased with the growth. It has been gradual. I think it is an indication of the energy in a vibrant community, that we have been able to sustain the growth,” Butler said.
He said he looks forward to trying to continue what Marion has been doing
and maintaining a business-friendly environment that promotes jobs and growth within the community.
“I do not have a crystal ball, but anyone in city government has to have some type of vision of what the town should be and can be ” Butler said.
He said he hopes to continue to strive to attract new businesses and maintain the businesses that Marion already has. Butler also said that he wants the town to continue to provide adequate housing for people and that they have made considerable strides in doing so with the private sector.
Butler shared what comes to his mind when he thinks about the town 50 years ago.
“Marion (was a) town then that was sitting, ready to breakout, expand and improve. I think it has finally commenced and is still going on,” Butler said.
(Article by Leichan Cleary, Daily Republican, March 2013)