The owner and operator of a storied Coralville restaurant has announced his intentions to snag a seat on the city’s City Council.

David Petsel, 57, who has owned the Iowa River Power Restaurant since 2002, made the announcement official in a Tuesday morning press release.

If elected, he said, he will be a committed citizen-servant who promotes the aspirations of the city’s taxpayers, students, and small businesses.

“I was brought up to always give back to make your community stronger and to help those around you succeed,” Petsel said in the release. “As a community volunteer, civic leader and local employer, I have had the opportunity to give back, and it has been incredibly rewarding, and now I want to take that same mentality of service to the City Council and be part of the bright future that I know is ahead for Coralville.”

Since 2002, he has been involved in the Mayor’s Youth Empowerment Program, and he has worked in Table To Table, a local charity that aims to provide individuals in need of food, since 2003.

While Petsel was born, raised, and educated in Iowa City, his father moved the family to Indianapolis to change jobs. Following his college career, Petsel moved his family back to Johnson County, where he has lived since.

The past 11 of those have been in Coralville.

Prior to owning his own business, Petsel worked with Randy’s Carpets and Interiors.

He will  focus on making the city’s government more open, transparent, and accountable, while maintaining primary city services alongside recreation and entertainment venues.

“I am definitely pro-growth, and we must make sure the tax revenues involved in any new projects are spent wisely. I don’t want public services cut, I want our parks maintained, and I want our roads repaired so we have to be responsible with the dollars entrusted to us by the taxpayers,” he said. “I am not a politician. I am a concerned citizen who loves Coralville and the people here, and I want to make sure that the city is pursuing policies that responsibly reduce our debt while giving everyone a fair chance at success and an opportunity at a quality of life that is unmatched anywhere else.”

Petsel and wife Danise have four children, Ilea, 33, Jaime, 26, John, 24, and Elise 13.

Petsel’s announcement follows Chris Turner’s statement last week that he would seek a City Council seat.

Turner is a professor in the University of Iowa’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders; he made the official statement on Sept. 6.

— by Quentin Misiag