Columbia Mayor Brian Treece announces he won’t run for reelection
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
City of Columbia Mayor Brian Treece announced Friday afternoon he will not run for reelection in 2022.
The announcement came during a community briefing in City Hall. Treece said the pace of the job is not compatible with his new upcoming professional responsibilities. Treece's term expires in April 2022.
"I am proud to leave behind a legacy of growth, and opportunity, and equality for everyone in Columbia," Treece said. "But that pace is just not sustainable for new professional responsibilities and opportunities that I look forward to next year."
Treece did not clarify what those new opportunities would be. He said he was still looking forward to business the council still needs to accomplish, like finishing the FY22 budget by October and hiring a new city manager.
Treece was first elected mayor in 2016 when he defeated Skip Walther.
Treece won reelection in 2019 when he defeated former Missouri State Representative Chris Kelly. During his re-election campaign, Treece touted the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs in his time as mayor, including “restored confidence” in government.
Treece and the city council hired the current Columbia City Manager John Glascock in 2019. Glascock will also retire in January. Treece said he wanted to make his intentions clear with his position as he and the council interview future city manager candidates.
"It's important to me and most transparent to announce this now so that candidates for city manager know up front that there's going to be a change in leadership," Treece said.
City council members wished Treece well in his announcement. Fifth Ward councilman Matt Pitzer called Treece a "great leader" who helped the city move forward on issues.
"We have a pretty full agenda over the next few months, and I look forward to working with him over that time to ensure the city is well-positioned for even more success," Pitzer said.
Filing for mayor opens in October for the April 2022 election. Treece is the only person with an active campaign committee with the Missouri Ethics Commission for the role.
