Five running for Red Oak mayor, eight for Council
MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Three Montgomery County communities will have a contested election for mayor in November, including one in Red Oak with five candidates.
Jeff Van Scoy joined Bill Billings, Larry Brandstetter, Bill Haufle and James Johnson in the race for Red Oak mayor. All but Van Scoy had publicly announced their respective candidacies in July and August for Ted Schoonover’s expiring term. When elected County Auditor to complete Sen. Joni Ernst’s term, Schoonover said he would not seek another term as Red Oak’s mayor.
Villisca Mayor Larry Figgins is opposed by two challengers in his re-election bid. Andy Crussel and Adam Wainwright also filed for the position.
Grant mayor Zelda Swartz is not seeking re-election, leaving Andrea Jeannette Holldorf and Laurenda Mifflin as the two official candidates.
City Council
All three of Red Oak’s council seats will have contested races, including two with three candidates each.
Dennis Jones, Jeanice Lester and Russell Williams are running for the At Large 4-year term, a position previously held by Ivan Craig, who had resigned.
Larry Barnett was appointed in May to fill the remainder of Ivan Craig’s term and is now running against Steve Fenn for the Ward 3 seat on the council. Brandstetter, a mayoral candidate, currently represents Ward 3.
Current Ward One Councilman Roger Waggener is seeking re-election and is opposed by John Haidsiak and Scott Keith.
In Villisca, Lee Haidsiak and Marilyn Halda seek re-election to the Council. Rex Galloway and Marsha Shepher are also running and voters will elect three of the four candidates.
Grant residents will elect five council members from a field of seven, that includes Michael Bradley Amos, Michael Austin Ford, John Giefing, Greg Lightner, Lyn Sliger, Nancy Taylor and Brenda Wendt. Sliger, Taylor and Ford are all seeking re-elction, as Lyn Shafer and Phillip Chalmers are not seeking re-election.
Two communities, Stanton and Elliott feature uncontested mayor and city council races.
Kirk Requist and Stephen Howell, both incumbents, are the only candidates in Stanton and Elliott’s mayoral races, respectively.
Current council members Michael Carson and George Petty are running unopposed in Elliott, while Kevin Wenberg and Ray Guffey are running for two vacant seats on Stanton’s council.
Michael Lawson and Robert Schneck did not seek re-election to Stanton’s council.
In Coburg, current council members Tammi Redd, Amy Eggleston and Julianna Schooling did not seek reelection, and no candidates filed for the three seats.