Still reeling from this news. Prayers for his family and for the city. Politics later.

My opinion, Mayor David Schmidt was the best Mayor Park Ridge has had in over twenty years.

Also, such a good person; always had a smile; always interested in all things Park Ridge, not just politics; took time to chat with everyone.

He will be missed!!!

Such a shame.

Whether or not he was perfect he was probably better then the others.

While no time is really right for a politician to die in office the time was probably really wrong.

As far as I know it’s never happened before.

EDITOR’S NOTE: It has not.

While I may not have agreed with him on certain issues I respected him as he loved being mayor, gave the office the attention it deserves, and love this city. His actions were always what he believed would benefit this fine city. He will be missed.

The best mayor since Marty Butler, who he tried to emulate in many ways. I saw him at many civic events, at various times of day and night. He truly was a 24/7 mayor, except when he was in Ann Arbor at a Michigan football game.

As a city employee who wishes to remain anonymous, I just want to say this: I definitely did not see eye to eye with Mayor Schmidt on everything. But I appreciated what he was trying to do for the city, and the fact that he was willing to be unpopular in order to stand up for what he believed to be right. I also felt that his position took him far beyond personal interest and gain, which is not something I can say for some others in this town. My condolences to his family. RIP.

Before Dave Schmidt was elected mayor, he earned a reputation for open disclosure of government decision making. During his term of office, Mayor Schmidt aggressively challenged spending taxpayer dollars in ways he thought unnecessary, and he took the political heat for doing so. He deserves our respect.

I liked and respected Mayor Schmidt a great deal. I had conversations with him where we were in complete agreement; and conversations where we weren’t even close. But in either instance he was always approachable and engaged and you couldn’t help leaving the conversation with a smile. He loved Park Ridge and clearly loved serving the city as mayor. It’s a loss for us all. Still shocked – and feel terribly for his family and friends. My condolences, Bob – I know you two were friends.

PR Citizen:

Well stated. I did not know the Mayor well but it was obvious to anyone watching that he cared and was willing to step up and fight for what he believed was right. Even if I disagreed with his position on an issue, I understood that we were lucky to have a man with these qualities watching the store….and doing so essentially as a volunteer!!

My deepest condolences to his family and the many friends he had in Park Ridge.

Mayor Dave was a man of the people. You would see him at the Jewel in cargo shorts and his trademark Hawaiian shirt, and he would talk with anyone and everyone about what was happening with the City. For someone who had not lived here that long, he took our community to his heart in ways that even lifelong residents like myself marveled at.

We will miss you, Mayor Dave.