Accountant seeking 1st Ward council seat

Fred Schmidt, owner of Accounting Cycle, said today that he plans to run for the 1st Ward seat on the Columbia City Council. No other candidate has publicly announced plans to run for the seat being vacated by Paul Sturtz.  
Schmidt, 51, is holding a signature-gathering event Saturday night at his home on West Ash Street.  The deadline for collecting 50 valid signatures and filing with the city clerk is Jan. 14, and the election will be in April.
“It’s very difficult for a small business owner to do this, but with a couple of employees at the office, I think I can make a go,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt is the treasurer of the Columbia Locally Owned Retail & Services (COLORS) board and the Missouri  Bicycle Federation and is on the city Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission. He’s also a member of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
Schmidt’s accounting businesses, which opened in 2005, is on Broadway downtown, next to Poppy’s.  The son of a physics professor at MU, Schmidt was born and raised on Garth Street in the First Ward. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics at Vassar College in New York and worked as a research assistant for the Federal Reserve Bank and in the investment business in Los Angeles, Tokyo and New York before returning to Columbia in 2004.
“Like so many people, I had to see the world before realizing that Columbia is the best place to live,” Schmidt said.
 Schmidt said he believes the Council could benefit from his understanding of accounting, economics and finance during what he called “a tough time financially for the city.” He indicated the city will have a difficult time next year balancing the budget and solidifying the pension system and pointed out that the departures of the city manager and finance director will heighten the challenge.