FISHERS, INDIANA – A former Mason City councilman who quit his post in the dead of night last year and then left town says it was right for Mason City to turn down a slaughterhouse.
Scott Tornquist served as a Mason City councilman for 10 years until he abruptly resigned last June. He quit at midnight on June 4, two days after a council meeting where he said nothing to the public of his intentions. Since then, he moved to Indiana. He put his house up for sale and it remains unsold to this day.
Since Mr. Tornquist left town, hardly anyone here has heard a peep from him. He’s been seen in town only sporadically – probably trying to find out why Century 21 can’t sell his house – actually appearing at a Mohawk football game last fall, wearing his Indianapolis Colts cap. While he was here, he was known as a staunch supporter of Mayor Eric Bookmeyer, helping lead the charge to dismantle Mason City’s Human Rights Department. His legacy includes bragging about $9 per hour jobs, fighting to keep the city’s council meetings off of Youtube, and approving hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer dollars for his neighbor’s business to move across town.
(image via Facebook)
However, Tornquist magically re-appeared out of the cornfields of Indiana in the wake of the devastating denial of the Prestage Foods slaughterhouse, which was a serious blow to Mayor Bookmeyer’s plan for Mason City.
In a social media post hours after the historic council vote, Tornquist went against his former political ally and revealed that he was against the Prestage Foods plant.
“Congrats to MC council on having the patience to let the process play all the way out, the fortitude for some very long meetings that were emotionally charged, and ultimately making what I believe to be the best decision for MC and NI regarding the Prestige (sic) project,” Tornquist wrote.
