Candidate filing period open for city and school board elections
The regular filing period opened Aug. 23 for candidates interested in running for local city office or school board. Individuals will have until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16 to submit forms for the elections, which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
City
A city election is used to elect the mayor and city council members. Mayoral terms are two years and city council terms are four years; exceptions include Clayton, St. Olaf and Volga, where council terms are two years, according to the Clayton County elections website.
A candidate must be an eligible elector in the city at the time they file nomination papers and at the time of the election. Individuals must submit an affidavit of candidacy form as well as a nomination petition. The petition must be signed by at least 10 residents of the city in which the candidate is running, and the residents who sign must be eligible to vote.
According to the Clayton County elections website, seats currently held by these officials are up for election this year:
•Clayton: Mayor - Max Basemann; Council - Anita Grunder, Kimberly Kuehl, Toni Schultz, Cathy Staake and Chris Youngblut
•Edgewood: Mayor - James Stone; Council - Kirby Kendrick, Steven Paul Lange and Jason Sullivan
•Elkader: Mayor - Josh R. Pope; Council - Tony Hauber (elected to fill vacancy for term remainder), Robert A. Hendrickson and Daryl Koehn
•Farmersburg: Mayor - Glenn Radloff; Council - Ron Dennler and Daniel Torkelson
•Garnavillo: Mayor - Chad Schmelzer; Council - Luke Clefisch (elected to fill vacancy for term remainder), Shelley Dietrich (elected to fill vacancy for term remainder) and Matthew Mueller
•Guttenberg: Mayor - Bill Frommelt; Council - Mick Pierce, Virginia Saeugling and Fred Schaub
•Luana: Mayor - Jerry Schroeder; Council - Brenda Boddicker and Paul L. Miller
•Marquette: Mayor - Stephen J. Weipert; Council - John R. Ries, Cindy Sharp Halvorson and Ryan P. Young
•McGregor: Mayor - Lyle J. Troester; Council - Charles Carroll, Janet Hallberg and Rogeta Halvorson
•Monona: Mayor - Eric Koenig; Council - Preston Landt, Tim Wright and Bridget Schlein (appointed to fill vacancy until election, two-year term)
•Postville: Mayor - Leigh Rekow; Council - Mary Engstrom and Donald Miller
•St. Olaf: Mayor - Adam M. Meyer; Council - Duane L. Bouska, Darwin Frana, Marcus D. Kahrs, Frank Kelly and Shannon Scherf
•Strawberry Point: Mayor - Hannah Evans; Council - Jason Gearhart (appointed to fill vacancy until election) and Wally Rowcliffe
•Volga: Mayor - Carrie Taylor; Council - Dennis Christeleit, George B. Duff, Alex Fettkether (appointed to fill vacancy until election), Elaine Follon and John Friedley (appointed to fill vacancy until election)
Forms can be obtained at local city halls, the Clayton County Auditor’s Office or at https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/cityelections.html. They must be submitted to the Clayton County Auditor’s Office.
Please note Elkport, Garber, North Buena Vista and Osterdock are cities with primary election provisions, so candidate filing is from Aug. 9-26. Per the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, city primary elections are held only in cities where the council has not chosen another nominating process. The city primary election will be held only when the number of candidates who file nomination papers is more than twice the number of seats to be filled for an office. The city primary election date would be Oct. 5, if necessary. Otherwise, regular election day will be Nov. 2.
School Board
A school election selects school board members within the district. School board terms are four years.
A candidate must be an eligible elector in the school district at the time they file nomination papers and at the time of the election. Individuals must submit an affidavit of candidacy form as well as a nomination petition. The minimum number of signatures needed depends on the number of registered voters in the school district as of May 1, 2021. The petition must be signed by only residents of the district in which the candidate is running, and the residents who sign must be eligible to vote.
According to the Clayton County elections website, seats currently held by these officials are up for election this year:
•Central: Jered Finley, Ed Hertrampf, Amy Pope and Josh Embretson (appointed to fill vacancy)
•Clayton Ridge: Michael Finnegan, Katherine Ihde and Jason Reimer
•MFL MarMac: Josh Grau, Brian Meyer, Jonathon Moser and Gina Roys
Forms can be obtained at the school secretary’s office, Clayton County Auditor’s Office or at https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/SchoolElections.html. They must be submitted to the school secretary.
