Columbia Mayor discusses not seeking third term

Earlier this week, the mayor of Columbia announced he is not running for a third term.

On Thursday, ABC 17 News sat down with Bob McDavid to find out what he had to say about the announcement.

The retired OBGYN was first elected back in 2010.

McDavid said 6 years is a long time, and personal reasons were involved in his decision to leave office.

A big challenge during his time as mayor was dealing with the unexpected rise in the number of students at MU.

“I’ve always said Columbia is really kind of a company town. It’s nice to have a successful company. I think one of the challenges Columbia has had is dealing with the growth in the student body at Mizzou, which was really unanticipated,” said McDavid.

The new candidate will be elected on April 5.

If you want to join the race, the deadline to file is January 19.