Small towns add excitement to Nov. 3 election

By: 
Nick Pedley

    Despite the appearance of a relatively mundane ballot, a pair of stalemates in Coulter and Hansell provided some fireworks to an otherwise routine election last week.
    Write-in candidate Mark Brown and incumbent Coulter Mayor Jim Warwick tied with 16 votes apiece Nov. 3. The stalemate forced the board of supervisors to draw the winner’s name from a hat on Monday, which is standard protocol dictated by Iowa Code according to Franklin County Auditor Michelle Giddings.
    The supervisors also used the time-honored process to decide the fate of a tie in Hansell. City council contender Ben McKinney and write-in candidate Jess Harlan received 11 votes apiece last week, forcing the hat draw. The deadlock marked the second-straight election Hansell had a tie for a city council seat.
    Results from the hat draw will be posted on this website following Monday’s vote canvas.
    Ballot competition was sparse in most Franklin County communities. However, that wasn’t the case in Latimer.
    Incumbent council members Randall DeBour (91 votes) and Landon Plagge (97 votes) won new terms, as did newcomer Shaun Koenen (101 votes). Missing out on council seats were Eric Bruns (86 votes), Roger Meyer (15 votes) and Michael Walrod (15 votes).
    Mark Johansen will take over the mayor's chair. He ran uncontested and will replace Kent Morton, who did not file for re-election.
    Sheffield also had a crowded list of city council contenders. Incumbents Jim Hegarty (132 votes), Ron Simmons (119 votes) and newcomer Brad Mulford (118 votes) scored new terms. The trio edged Tony Eisentrager (57 votes) and James Robbins (81 votes). Uncontested incumbent Mayor Nick Wilson was also re-elected.
    In Geneva, incumbent Mayor Sean Porter edged challenger Raymond Silver by one vote, 27-26. Brody Bertram, Jim Zacharias, write-in candidate Todd Pilchard and incumbents Stephen Love and Lydia Mennenga won terms on the city council. 
    The mayor’s race wound up getting all the attention in Coulter, but there were also three uncontested candidates up for city council seats. Incumbents Dallas Paris and Dan Tilkes won new terms, as did newcomer Anthony Stadtlander.
    In Popejoy, a group of uncontested candidates didn’t even need 10 votes to win new terms – only seven people voted in the entire election.
    Incumbent city council candidates Ronald Allen, Dennis Bradley, David Larson and Jason Nohrenberg won new terms, with write-in candidate Scott Bradely landing the fifth seat. Incumbent write-in Mayor Dale Maas also won re-election with six votes.
    Hampton's election went to the unopposed incumbents. Mayor Brook Boehmler and council members Dyanne Pralle (Ward III), Meghan Freie (Ward I) and Jim Davies (At-Large) all won new terms.
    Davies currently represents Ward II but plans to move to a new home located outside of the ward in the near future. He will have to resign from that position before taking the oath of office for the At-Large seat. The council will then either appoint a new representative or call for a special election.
    In Hansell, uncontested incumbent Mayor Jason Harper landed another term. Incumbent council members Colten Harper and Michael Norman also won, as did newcomers Daryl Norman and Joe Hannah. Ben McKinney and Jess Harlan tied for the fifth council seat with nine votes apiece.
    Finally, incumbents Jacob McNutt, Thomas Schear and newcomer Virgil Larsen won terms on the Alexander City Council. Incumbent Mayor Darrel Baxter was also re-elected.

Hampton Chronicle

9 Second Street NW
Hampton, IA 50441
Phone: 641-456-2585
Fax: 1-800-340-0805
Email: news@midamericapub.com

Mid-America Publishing

This newspaper is part of the Mid-America Publishing Family. Please visit www.midampublishing.com for more information.