Bleeding Heartland
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 Bleeding Heartland

Iowa local election results discussion thread

Polls closed at 8:00 pm across Iowa. What local elections are you following tonight, Bleeding Heartland readers?

Polk County voters appear to have approved Public Measure A to fund improvements to the county court system. UPDATE: With all precincts reporting, “yes” on A has 21,702 votes (67 percent) to 10,611 votes (33 percent) for “no.”

With 65 of 71 precincts reporting, Des Moines at-large City Council member Skip Moore has 7,720 votes, while challenger Chris Diebel has 4,725 votes. Incumbent Chris Hensley has been re-elected in the third ward, and in the open first ward, Bill Gray has a lead over Sean Bagniewski, the candidate preferred by many progressives and labor activists.

UPDATE: Windsor Heights results are in: for the first time I can remember, all of the candidates I supported won! Longtime city council member Diana Willits won the open race for mayor (Jerry Sullivan retired). Diana is one of the few Republicans I’ve consistently voted for over the years. Unofficial results for city council indicate that the winners were incumbent Betty Glover (whom I didn’t support) and candidates Steve Peterson and Tony Timm (for whom I voted). Peterson is a former city council member and was the Joe Biden precinct captain in Windsor Heights 2 in 2008. Timm is the executive director of the largest homeless shelter in Des Moines.

SECOND UPDATE: By a 2-1 margin, Iowa City voters upheld the city ordinance keeping 19 and 20-year-olds out of bars. The Iowa City council results will be a disappointment to those who were hoping to elect more progressives in the “people’s republic.”

THIRD UPDATE: Looks like the incumbents were re-elected in Coralville, a big loss for the Koch brothers’ group Americans for Prosperity.

FOURTH UPDATE: Two local officials who are running for the state legislature as Republicans lost yesterday. Royce Phillips was a city council member in Tiffin and is a candidate for the open Iowa Senate district 39. Mark LeRette was a city council member in Muscatine and is a candidate for the open House district 91.

Cedar Rapids voters re-elected Mayor Ron Corbett. An ten-year extension of the local-option sales tax also passed easily in the Cedar Rapids metro area.

Tags: 2013 Elections, Cedar Rapids, Chris Diebel, Des Moines, HD-91, Judiciary, Local, Ron Corbett, SD-39, Skip Moore

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  • Um… Grimes?

    I’ve been refreshing the Polk County Auditor’s site for the last hour or so… As of 8:45pm. Grimes has only 1 precinct reporting and there are only 17 votes in for Mayor.

    17 votes. Total. One of them is a write in.

    greghauenstein  Tue 5 Nov 8:46 PM

  • Diebel embarrassed himself

    not even competitive with Moore and sort of self-destructed in the process. I think this is a setback to his long-term prospects.

    amcsepboe  Tue 5 Nov 8:56 PM

  • Americans for Prosperity candidates lose in Coralville

    According to the Johnson County Auditor, the AfP candidates: Mark Winckler, David Petsel or Chris Turner were all handily defeated tonight.  John Lundell was easily elected mayor of Coralville.

    In Iowa City, a young, progressive attorney, Kingsley Botchway won the open seat on the city council.  Incumbents Mims and Dickens were also re-elected.

    In the small but fast growing town of Tiffin, I was surprised to see that former mayor Royce Phillips finished last in the city council race.  Phillips is a fundamentalist minister, and I guess that Tiffin has outgrown his brand of politics.

    corncam  Tue 5 Nov 10:10 PM

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