Fridolph, Lester win contested races, Stanton School bond issue passes

Final unofficial election results have been tallied in Montgomery County.
Of 6,527 registered voters in the county, a total of 1,287 ballots were cast, resulting in the county having a close to 20% voter turnout, with 19.72%.
In the Red Oak Mayors race, Tim Fridolph was the winner with 451 votes. John Haidsiak, who announced he was withdrawing from the race last month, received 173 votes. There were 54 write-ins.
Fridolph shared his thoughts on the win, saying he was very happy with the results.
“I’m very humbled and grateful and I look forward to continuing serving my community. I’m very thankful for all the support of those that came out and made their voices heard at the polls and I look forward to working together to make Red Oak a success,” Fridolph said.
As he begins the transition to his new role within the city’s government, Fridolph spoke about the future.
“As I ran my campaign, my areas of focus first and foremost are really going to be looking at creative ways to help recruit anything we can to help grow our tax base and continue working towards reducing the impact of our floodplain,” commented Fridolph.
In the race for Red Oak City Council At-Large, Jeanice Lester was the winner with 443 votes while John Gross received 234 votes. There were five write-ins. Lester shared her thoughts on the win.
“I was very happy. I can’t thank everyone enough that voted for me and that worked to help me get voted in. It was awesome. These things take a village, and I hope to help continue to make Red Oak the best it can be,” Lester stated.
Lester had officially retired from the council a few years ago, but when the opportunity came to serve the community again, she jumped at the chance.
“When I retired, it was not in my radar to return, but when then-councilman John Haidsiak resigned, I thought that I could help the city out. Of course, we found out after I was appointed that the state changed the rules and that I would have to run. Anyone who knows me knows my personality well enough to know that I wasn’t just going to stay for three months,” advised Lester. “I actually switched to the At-Large position because that was who I represented for the 12 years I served before, and I felt that was where I served the community best, so that’s where I landed.”
Lester added she’s looking forward to the extension of her term and the opportunity to work with new mayor, Tim Fridolph.
“I’ve worked with him in other capacities prior to this in different organizations, as well as on the council, and I believe he’s going to do a really good job,” Lester said.
Terry Koppa won the uncontested race for Red Oak City Council Ward 2 with 177 votes; there were five write-ins.
For Red Oak City Council Ward 1, Levi Franks was uncontested and received 175 votes. There were three write-ins.
The three winners in the Stanton Council At-Large Race were Chris Stephens with 181 votes, Justin Rhamy with 159 votes, and Jeff Sebeniecher with 131 votes. Wes Royal finished fourth with 89 votes.
Stephens spoke afterwards about the results, and said that he wasn’t stressed about the results, but is excited about the win and the fact he gets to return.
“I would say that it proves that the voters in the city have a bit of confidence in me. We don’t have too much on the agenda right now, but we’re ready for what pops up next. I’m looking forward to working with Jeff Sebeniecher and Justin Rhamy. I also want to compliment Wes Royal, he did a great job for his term and shared a lot of knowledge. I appreciate everyone’s confidence in me and allowing me to continue on,” explained Stephens.
Rhamy, who is also returning to the council for another term, shared his thoughts on the election victory.
“I am truly honored by the trust the people of Stanton have placed in me. I look forward to continuing to do my part in helping the community grow and thrive,” Rhamy stated.
Newcomer Sebeniecher was also pleased to be elected to serve on Stanton’s council.
“It’s very exciting and nice that the citizens were giving me an opportunity to listen and hear their opinions. I’m excited about it and excited to be working with Chris and Justin; they’re both good guys. I really appreciate the citizens voting to give me this opportunity and help them get their voices heard. We’re in a place where times are tough and it’s nice to hear what they have to say and do what’s best for Stanton,” Sebeniecher said.
The Villisca Mayor’s Race was uncontested and Marilyn Halda received 73 votes. There were three write-ins.
For Villisca City Council At-Large, there were two spots but only one candidate filed paperwork to be on the official ballot. Vince Abraham received 65 votes, and there were 14 write-in votes.
Jane Albertie was uncontested in the race for Villisca City Council At-Large To Fill a Vacancy and received 68 votes. There were four write-ins.
In the City of Elliott Mayor’s race, Mike Carson ran uncontested, receiving 31 votes. There were two write-ins.
No candidates officially declared a run for the two Coburg City Council At-Large seats. There were 18 write-in votes.
In the City of Grant Mayor’s race, Clay Amos ran uncontested for the post and received 10 votes.
For Grant City Council At-Large, there were five open seats and three declared candidates. Erin Amos, Zelda Swartz, and Lyn Sliger each received 10 votes, and there were 14 write-ins.
The last of the city races were in Coburg. No candidates officially declared a candidacy for Coburg Mayor. There were nine write-in votes.
In the Coburg Council At-Large race, no candidates made official declarations to run for the two open seats. There were 18 write-in votes.
In the school elections, three candidates were running for the three seats for Red Oak School Board Director At-Large. Bret Blackman received 548 votes, Kelly Osheim received 542 votes, and Bryce Johnson received 526 votes.
Ricky Rohrig was running unopposed to for the Red Oak School Director At-Large To Fill a Vacancy, and received 625 votes. There were 11 write-ins.
In the Contested Race for Stanton School Director At-Large, four candidates were vying for three seats. The top vote getters were Ryan Hart, who received 266 votes, while Cameron Lewellen received 263 votes, and Jackie Hoyt received 213 votes. Alex Cabbage was in fourth place with 201 votes.
Hart shared some of his thoughts on being selected to serve as a board member with the Stanton District.
“I feel great and honored to win, as well as grateful for the opportunity and just looking forward to try to be an asset for the Stanton schools. With the passage of the bond issues, I’m excited for the kids and the staff who will get to see some major renovations done to the school” Hart explained. “I feel like it’s been a long time since anything’s been done improvement-wise to the building and happy we can move forward. I feel very humbled and I’m grateful to the people for voting for me. It means a lot and I’ll do the best job I can.”
Lewellen was re-elected to another term on the Stanton School Board and said he was excited for the opportunity to return.
“I’m very pleased with the results, and I’m glad all the bond stuff passed as well as all the other language that was on the ballot. I’m also excited to work with some new faces on the school board this year and now that the bond issues have passed, being able to continue along with the process now that the funding has been essentially secured with seeing the renovations start coming to fruition,” Lewellen commented. “It will be very nice to see the progress that we make from this point forward, and I’m grateful for everybody’s support and glad things worked out the way they did.”
Another new addition to the school board is Jackie Hoyt, who shared her thoughts on the election victory.
“I am very thankful for the community’s support and confidence in me and look forward to serving as a school board director. I am very excited to see the future improvements and growth for our school, our kids, and our community,” stated Hoyt.
For Villisca School Director At-Large, two candidates were running for two seats. Thomas Gourley received 88 votes and Leland Shipley received 87 votes. There were two write-ins.
For Griswold School Director At-Large, there were two seats and two declared candidates. Robert Peterson received 54 votes and Aaron Houser received 38 votes.
For Griswold School Director District 3, Christian Vanscyoc was unopposed and received 64 votes.
For East Mills School Director District 1, there were two candidates for one seat. Matthew G. Urban received 2 votes and Kent Harry Poncelow received 2 votes.
For East Mills School Director District 2, Justin Zeitner received one vote.
For East Mills School Director At-Large, Dana Carter received one vote.
For Essex School Director At-Large, three candidates were on the ballot for two seats. Bryan Nelson and Rebecca Franks received two votes and Heidi Hossle received zero votes.
Finally, Shenandoah School Director At-Large was also on some of the ballots. No votes were received for candidates Jean L. Fichter, Adam Van Der Vliet, or Clint Wooten.
Also on the ballot were several public measures for the Stanton School District, some of which would allow for upgrades to the districts buildings.
Stanton Schools Public Measure QA received 234 yes votes and 126 no votes.
Stanton Public Measure QB received 224 yes votes and 134 no votes.
Stanton Schools Public Measure PX received 249 yes votes and 106 no votes.
Stanton School Public Measure PY received 258 yes votes and 96 no votes.
Stanton School superintendent David Gute said the district staff were all pleased that all four measures were approved by the public.
“With the bond passing, we will be able to make significant upgrades to the security of the building. Other planned improvements include major safety enhancements, updated HVAC systems, ADA-compliant restrooms, and other essential mechanical upgrades,” Gute said. “Of course, the depth of these improvements would not be possible without the community’s support of the $4.05 debt limit increase. In addition, other ongoing needs will arise over time, which makes the approval of the PPEL and the Revenue Purpose Statement especially important. These two measures provide critical funding streams that help maintain our buildings, replace outdated buses, computers, and equipment, and address other facility needs.”
In the lead-up to the election, the district held several public forums, which likely aided in the issues passing.
“Throughout the meetings and forums, we invited the public to help us narrow down our list of improvements. We also shared the available funding options and explained the decisions behind moving forward with the selected projects, including the rationale for each choice. I believe we were very transparent throughout this entire process. While not everyone agreed with every decision, the majority supported the plan and the improvements we selected to move forward with,” explained Gute.
Gute added the district is truly grateful for the community’s continued support and investment in the future of the school.
“A school finance expert shared with me that he knows of only one other district that has successfully passed a four-question ballot, an achievement that highlights our community’s support. This success was made possible by the dedication and teamwork of many individuals to help make these measures a reality,” stated Gute.
For Iowa Western Community College Director District 4, Chris Blake received 60 votes and there were two write-ins.
For Iowa Western Community College Public Measure SE, there were 43 yes votes and 25 no votes.
Finally, for Southwestern Community College Director District 5, Kevin Britten, running unopposed, received 935 votes.