The mayor of Washington, Iowa, died Sunday morning at his home after a short illness. Rick Cicalo was a professional musician who played bass guitar for a variety of groups, including the Mother Blues Band, and for singer-songwriter Greg Brown. He was inducted in both the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame and the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cicalo was elected mayor Washington, Iowa, in 2005. "He was very energetic as a mayor. He was always working hard, every day, at city hall. Very meticulous. Very bright," Washington City Administrator Dave Plyman says of Cicalo, his voice cracking with emotion. "We’re going to miss him."
Cicalo was instrumental in organizing a new "street-scape" plan for downtown Washington. He was also raising money to have a bronze statue of Washington, Iowa, native Ola Babock Miller erected in the city. Babcock Miller was Iowa’s first secretary of state and she founded the highway patrol.
Friends indicate Cicalo found out he had cancer just a few weeks ago. Richard James Cicalo was 54 years old.