WOOD RIVER - From four candidates, the people of Wood River chose four-term city council member, Cheryl Maguire - making her the first woman to hold the position of mayor in the city's history.
Maguire, however, is more concerned about Wood River's future than she is the history made by her election. In the early afternoon hours of Wednesday, April 5 - the day following her election - she said she has been in contact with several entities within the city to work on creating an economic development task force. She said she has contacted real estate developers, economic developers, and Wood River business owners looking for further growth - all of whom she said have responded positively.
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"I think [being the first woman mayor of Wood River] is secondary," Maguire said. "It's almost like a footnote. It wasn't an issue, it wasn't a thought in my mind. I just wanted to be the most effective mayor to lead the city forward."
Maguire said she will take a "one foot in front of the other" approach to moving the city forward. She said she met with Wood River's department heads Wednesday morning and plans on working with the new city council and staff to move the city forward, saying campaigning has ended, and the city must now move toward the future together as one, solid, united entity.
"We're looking forward to developing the downtown area," she said. "Wood River is like everybody else. We don't want to put much on the back of Wood River home and business owners, and we want to serve the people."
She said she has also been in contact with groups of property rehabilitation experts. She said many properties in Wood River are ideal for renovations. Under her administration, she said the city would encourage such efforts.
Another focus of Maguire's administration will be bringing more businesses to Wood River. She said a new insurance agency has recently come to the city's downtown area, and she would like to see more businesses make their home in Downtown Wood River.
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