There’s going to be a new Springfield City Council member in Zone 4. Matthew Simpson was defeated Tuesday by architect Bruce Adib-Yazdi.
Simpson, chief research and planning officer for Ozarks Tech, had served in that position since March 2018. He was elected to fill the remainder of the term in April 2019.
Adib-Yazdi said he’s excited to be chosen to serve on Zone 4 City Council. One thing he hopes to accomplish is to get young people involved, because, as he said, Forward SGF isn’t his plan, it’s theirs.
"As I continued to run the race and got towards the end," he said, "it became really clear that young people's opinion about how our city should grow is really important, and I think I want to find a way to convene a citizens advisory group of 18 to 25-year-olds."
KSMU’s Gregory Holman caught up with Simpson at a watch party before the final results were known. Simpson said he felt good about the campaign he had run.
"It was positive. It was focused on what we've accomplished working together over the past several years and, more importantly, what we'd be able to accomplish over the next four years working together," he said.
Adib-Yazdi read a statement to KSMU that he'd prepared.
"First of all, much respect to my opponent, Matt Simpson, who's served city since his appointment in 2018. I wish him well and hope he enjoys some well-deserved time off with his family," he said. "A little special shout out to Ray Lampert, who made the selfless decision to withdraw from the race at the very last moment after Councilman Simpson entered the race. Thank you, Ray, for your leadership and integrity. Huge thanks, of course, to my number one supporter, Joyce Eiken, my wife. And then to the best campaign team anyone could have asked for, all my donors, canvassers, supporters, people that just called, a few friends knocked on doors or just shared a post. Every vote truly matters. Now it's time to get to work. My first focus will be looking at what it takes to generate neighborhood plans for the neighborhoods in Zone 4 and convening a group of engaged young citizens to start the conversation of what it will take to keep them here in Springfield and how we can build a city that they want to call home."
Adib-Yazdi defeated Simpson with 57% of the vote.
