Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour has announced to local Republicans that he will run for a second term.  IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports.

Ridenour speaks at a private event. (Photo: Dan Ridenour for Muncie Mayor on Facebook)

Dan Ridenour announced his new campaign at a Tuesday night private event.

In a statement on Facebook, Ridenour says there’s more work to be done to “build a strong foundation on which our city can build toward a brighter future.”

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly interrupted the mayor’s first years in office, with the 2020 state shut-down coming two weeks after his first “state of the city” policy speech.

During his three years in office, Ridenour has spoken most of the need for more housing, increased job opportunities, and revitalizing public parks.  Like previous mayors, he has used the tax fund he controls, called the mayor’s EDIT fund, to support projects he’s championing.

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In his re-election statement, he says he’ll continue to focus on bringing business and new housing to Muncie.

Every mayor’s term has its rocky issues.  During his term, Ridenour has clashed with the Muncie Sanitary District on the makeup of its governing board and with the Muncie City Council over a now voted-down solar farm project at the former General Motors plant site.

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He also championed a plan to let the private Christian fitness organization YMCA build on public land at Tuhey Park, a project that received much community backlash.

No other candidates have yet announced for the mayor’s seat.