Dear Friends and Fellow Citizens:

It is with great anticipation that I announce my candidacy for re-election to the West Des Moines City Council. On January 5, 2004, I began my service to the people of West Des Moines as City Councilmember At-Large. On that day, I took an oath to support the Constitution of the United State and the Constitution of the state of Iowa and to faithfully and impartially, to the best of my ability, discharge all the duties of my office as required by law.

It has been an honor to serve West Des Moines families and businesses these past four years. I want to continue to lead by growing West Des Moines for our families and businesses. West Des Moines will continue to be a city that attracts families, businesses and destination events for all ages. I will continue to lead the City of West Des Moines in the 21st century and will focus on my Five Point Leadership Plan of Smart Growth, Fiscal Responsibility, Community Recreation, Public Safety and Support for Schools.

We've been fortunate in West Des Moines to have earned many accolades and favorable press. Over the past four years these have included Money Magazine, August 2006, America's Best Places to Live; Des Moines Business Record, 1998-2007 voted as The Best City Government Conducive to Business; Site Selection Magazine, 2004 The Wells Fargo Complex in West Des Moines was one of the Top Ten Economic Development Projects of the Year; Standard and Poor's AAA Bond Rating since March 2005; All three Public Safety Departments Accredited since 2006 (one of only a few in the nation); Sperling and Sander, 2007, Cities Ranked & Rated, Top 50 (Des Moines/West Des Moines is 46); and, WDM Magazine, 2007, Finalist for 3CMA Savvy Award. We are honored to be recognized for the quality of our community, however we cannot rest on our laurels, we must continue to seek a new standard of excellence. It is important we continue to listen to residents and businesses about their concerns and suggestions. We must focus on learning from residents and businesses and then leading in a collaborative manner.

I pledge to do my utmost to carry on the high principles of public service that have become the standard in West Des Moines because of people like you supporting our elected officials. Citizen involvement has always been a key to the success we have enjoyed as a City. I hope you will choose to be involved and work to better our great community. I value your opinions on issues that come before the city and seek your input. Communication is important and I facilitate dialogue in several ways.

Most people with comments or concerns contact me via my city e-mail which is jim.sandager@wdm-ia.com. I respond very quickly after I have read through an e-mail. In addition people also contact me via my phone and my work number is 515-222-0600. I welcome any calls you make to me. Finally I often hear comments from citizens as I am out and about in our community. I respond quickly to these comments, usually no later than the next day.

Thank you for your support and the opportunity to serve you. I look forward to continuing serving you and the City of West Des Moines. I encourage you to use my website to contact me.

Very Truly Yours,