116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa City voters keep incumbents on school board
Priorities include preschool and equitable access for all students
IOWA CITY — Three incumbents and one newcomer were elected to the Iowa City school board Tuesday.
They are Lisa Williams, Molly Abraham, Mitchell Lingo and Charlie Eastham — or “WALE,” according to a mnemonic device supporters used on social media leading up to Tuesday’s election.
The two top vote-getters were Abraham and Williams, both with about 23 percent. Eastham and Lingo both had about 21 percent. The next-highest was Micah Broekemeier with 5 percent. Results are not final until the canvass.
Lingo said he’s excited to join the Iowa City school board after campaigning since April.
“Iowa City is a very boots-on-the-ground community,” he said. “They like to have their candidates held accountable in public spaces. You go to the swimming pool and get questions.”
He’s not surprised conservative candidates lost in some high-profile school board races across the state.
“If you have candidates who are in the spring of 2023 who are all about vouchers and then all of a sudden they say ‘Hey, I want public schools’ but are pushing for divesting from public schools, I don't know how you expect those candidates to win at a local election.”
The school district serves about 14,800 students in Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights, Hills and surrounding areas.
Three incumbents — Williams, Abraham and Eastham — ran against four challengers — Lingo, Broekemeier, Robert Decker and Jacob Onken. Board member Maka Pilcher Hayek did not seek re-election.
Abraham, a 63-year-old retired teacher and assistant principal in the Iowa City district, was appointed to the school board in 2022 to fulfill the remaining term of Shawn Eyestone. Her top priority is “equity of access for all students to high quality instruction and top-notch facilities,” Abraham said in a Gazette survey.
Eastham, 81, has served on the school board since 2019. The retired University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics researcher said his top priority is eliminating achievement gaps and discipline disparities of Black students and Latinx students.
Lingo, 40, is a senior research scientist at Iowa College Aid and former teacher. His top priorities include continuing to expand the district’s preschool program and offering parents half-day affordable child care.
Lisa Williams, a 44-year-old assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Iowa, attended Iowa City schools and is a veteran. She would like to make sure 4-year-old preschool is available to every parent in the district, according to her survey.
Emma Shimanovsky, 35, of Iowa City, brought her 4-year-old son, Alex, to vote at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame on Iowa City's west side Tuesday morning.
Shimanovsky said she voted to re-elect school board incumbents, who she thinks have done a good job. She is concerned a state ban on school books that contain descriptions of sex could be implemented more broadly than necessary.
"Iowa feels a little bit like despair right now," Shimanovsky said. "So we're kind of hoping that Iowa City and the local elections can be a bright spot."
More than a quarter of registered Johnson County voters turned out Tuesday, which is high for a local election.
Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com
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