There was a new face on the Mexico City Council last week.

Incumbent Steve Haag and newcomer Dr. Alexander Finck took their oaths of office at the April 13 Mexico City Council meeting after the results of the April 7 General Municipal Election were certified by the council members.

Two seats on the City of Mexico’s city council were up for grabs in the April 7 election. Incumbents Larry Webber and Haag found themselves in a contested race when local business owner and community member Finck filed alongside them on opening day. Finck won his seat with 428 votes. Haag received 343 votes, securing the second seat, and Webber lost with 280 votes.

Haag, who served as mayor last year, was reelected in a unanimous vote following his nomination by his predecessor and current council member, Vicki Briggs. Briggs also nominated Chris Miller to remain as Chairman Pro Tem and the council agreed.

Mayor Steve Haag

Haag has served on the Mexico City Council for six years and as the city’s Mayor for one year. He is also a teacher and football coach at Mexico High School.

Some highlights during his city council tenure include the upgrades to the Fairgrounds Aquatic Center, which added a new slide, splash pad and zero-depth entry to the pool, and the establishment of Western Smokehouse Partners’ new facility in the former Soft Surroundings building.

“Hopefully other businesses see that as Mexico being a great place to come to and have workers and produce a great product,” Haag said.

But Haag’s work is far from over and with at least three more years on city council ahead of him, healthcare is one of his top priorities.

“We know something needs to happen for Mexico, and we’re always working on that,” Haag said. “I think sometimes people get the feeling that we’re not, but we’re constantly talking about it and just trying to find, hopefully get that partnership with Boone going, more avenues where we can service people in need, especially with emergencies.”

The City of Mexico’s partnership with Boone Health and the establishment of a critical access hospital is a project with a lot of moving parts and a scope too big for just one mayor to tackle, so he will also be looking into ways the city can help promote Mexico.

“We have a lot of things that people can enjoy when they come here,” he said. “One of the things I hear about is, ‘What is there to do in Mexico?'”

And the way he would do that is by hiring a public relations representative to promote events and local businesses on social media, potentially in collaboration with the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce.

For Haag, being mayor and a member of the city council is more than just approving resolutions and reading proclamations — it's also about listening.

“What can we do to improve Mexico?” Haag asked. “We love to hear ideas from people. People call, people stop me on the street, you know — we want to hear some ideas.”

Council Member Alex Finck

Finck is the owner of Cornerstone Family Medicine. He also serves as board president for Mainstreet Mexico.

As a physician, Finck is also focused on healthcare and a hospital is his number one priority. He said he hopes he can use his “expertise” as an owner of a family medicine clinic to bring some background knowledge into the discussions that began long before he took office.

“I’m not naive to the fact that’s an effort that was ongoing far before me and I don’t have much of an impact as an individual on that,” Finck said.

But something he does feel like he can influence during his term is the revitalization efforts of Mexico. Finck, like his predecessor Webber, is placing a lot of emphasis on the beautification of Mexico — particularly downtown. But unlike Webber, Finck said, he is actually taking steps in that direction.

Finck said he would like to see a beautiful wrought iron arch welcoming visitors to the downtown district, like the installment in Lebanon, and Mainstreet Mexico is actively looking at quotes for that. He also said he would like an open-air farmers market pavilion, like the one in Columbia, to be the first thing people see when they cross the bridge on Clark Street.

“Basically, I envisioned the city providing seed money for us to go and use that money as matching money for grants,” he said. “That's very doable.”

Having never held an elected position before, Finck relies on his personal experiences to see what needs to change in his community. His role as a father opened his eyes to the struggle of finding daycare.

“If you're trying to widen your workforce locally, you have to support the people who could go to work but aren't because they can't afford to or do not have quality daycare to allow them to,” he said.

Finck is currently in the process of putting together an ad hoc committee of engaged, local citizens to address this issue and he is using Noble County, Indiana’s Tri-Share program for inspiration.

In the Tri-Share program, a third of daycare costs are covered by the employer, a third by the county and a third by the families. Finck said while that exact setup may not be feasible for Mexico, he will continue exploring ways to partner with the county and “provide the footwork” to get this off the ground.

Though Webber did not attend the meeting, Finck thanked his predecessor for his service to the city in his closing comments.

“I am honored and really excited to be here,” Finck said. “I also want to thank Larry Webber, who’s not here, for his service to the city council, to the city, before I was here.”

Haag said he was excited to serve another three years on the council.

“I thought we all make a good team, I love the ideas, we have a great staff and it’s a lot of fun to serve,” he said.