Solon and Tiffin voters pick newcomers as mayors

Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct the number of open seats in the Clear Creek Amana Community School District race and to correct the winners of that race.

In two of the few uncontested races for mayor in Johnson County cities, challengers ousted incumbents in Tiffin and Solon, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s elections.

About 26 percent of the 74,021 registered Johnson County voters cast a ballot, according to the Johnson County Auditor’s Office.

Hills

Four of five City of Hills City Council seats were up for election Tuesday.

Two incumbents — Cathy Knebel and Guy Sommers — earned another four-year term with 26 percent of the votes each. Newcomer Michelle Rummelhart filled the third vacancy with 26 percent of the vote as well. Incumbent Teresa Volk ran uncontested to fill a two-year vacancy.

Hills voters also passed a measure to authorize a 1 percent local sales tax starting July 1, 2025, for infrastructure improvements, city parks and other purposes determined by the Hills City Council. It was approved by 75 percent of the vote.

University Heights

All five of the University Heights City Council seats were up for grabs Tuesday.

Newcomer Nicholas Herbold snagged one with 21 percent of the vote. Incumbents Liesa Moore (18 percent), Timothy Schroeder (14 percent), Doug Swailes (13 percent) and Stepheny Gahn (12 percent) secured the other four seats.

Incumbent Mayor Louise From ran unopposed to secure another term as mayor.

Solon

Incumbent Steve Stange and challenger Daniel O’Neil battled for the position of mayor in Solon. O’Neil defeated Stange by just nine votes, earning 51 percent of the votes.

In Iowa, a candidate must request a recount but the margin dictates who must pay for it. If the difference is 1 percent or 50 votes or less, the state pays for the recount. Otherwise, the candidate requesting the recount pays.

Two of the five City Council seats were on the ballot but both were uncontested. Newcomer Andrew Kramer and incumbent John Farlinger won the spots.

Tiffin

Incumbent Steve Berner and newcomer Tim Kasparek vied for the position as Tiffin’s new mayor. Kasparek secured the win with 62 percent of the votes.

Two of the five City Council seats were open. Incumbents Chris Olney and Skylar Limkemann won them with 34 percent and 33 percent of the votes respectively.

Clear Creek Amana Community School District

Nine candidates ran for five open school board positions in the Clear Creek Amana Community School District, which spans from Amana to Coralville.

Newcomers Abdouramane Bila and Gabe Schaapveld filled two open at-large seats with 30 percent and 26 percent of the votes, respectively. Schaapveld defeated incumbent Joe Burns by 36 votes.

Newcomer Allison Momany secured the open District 1 seat with 63 percent of the vote. Incumbent Jennifer Downes won the open District 2 seat with 55 percent of the vote. And newcomer Jennifer Bollers ran uncontested to earn an open District 3 seat, filling out the seven-person board.

Public measures

Several jurisdictions in Johnson County included public measures on the Tuesday ballots. Here’s how the public voted on some of them:

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com