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Reynolds elected Elkhorn mayor`

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Howie E. Reynolds

ELKHORN — The first order of business for Elkhorn's new mayor is to attract more businesses to the city's tax incremental finance district on the north side.

“We want to develop that a little further,” Howie Reynolds said Tuesday evening after hearing that final election results were in. “Maybe we need to offer incentives. We need to get to it or else the taxpayer will start to pay for it.”

Reynolds, who has been the District 1 alderman for the last nine years, led Tuesday's election with 673 votes against 588 for James Boardman Sr., who has served three terms on the Elkhorn City Council and was highly critical of Reynolds' colleagues in the current council.

Reynolds will fill the seat left open by Mayor John Giese, who did not seek re-election.

The mayor-elect said he is looking forward to putting committees in place, especially the planning commission, which he said would be one of his initial focuses.

During his campaign, Reynolds said he wants to avoid raising taxes while maintaining current service levels. He said city officials have invested in a series of street projects, and there are more projects that need to be addressed. But taking care of business doesn’t mean wasting tax dollars, he said.

“They've been real good at that,” Reynolds said in a previous interview. “And we can see if there are cheaper ways of doing things than we do now.

“I want to continue infrastructure projects—getting more roads fixed,” he said.

Reynolds said he is thankful for the votes and glad to continue to serve Elkhorn.

“When you're an incumbent, people like change,” Reynolds said. “I just don't feel the city of Elkhorn is in such horrible shape that it needs a lot of change.”