116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
David Maier ousts incumbent Pat Loeffler for Cedar Rapids City Council seat; Ann Poe re-elected
Maier makes history as council’s first openly gay member
CEDAR RAPIDS — Political newcomer David Maier defeated first-term incumbent Pat Loeffler on Tuesday to secure an at-large seat on the Cedar Rapids City Council, becoming the first openly gay member to serve on the council in Iowa’s second largest city.
Incumbent Ann Poe, the top vote-getter in the at-large race, collected 26 percent of the vote to win re-election.
Maier, pitching himself to voters as a political outsider who’d challenge the status quo if elected, came in second with 24 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. Loeffler trailed with 18 percent of the vote.
Maier, 56, finance and control manager for Transamerica, entered the race in July and raised $3,915 from self-funding and individual donors, mainly from the arts community and two Cedar Rapids school board members.
He knocked on doors, especially on the west side where his opponents have deep roots, hosting meet and greets and advertising digitally and through billboards and yard signs.
Local figures, including former Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston, Cedar Rapids school board member Jennifer Borcherding and state Sen. Liz Bennett, D-Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s first openly LGBTQ female lawmaker, attended his Tuesday night watch party at Lion Bridge Brewing Co.
Standing on a chair to address those gathered for his watch party, Maier acknowledged making history and said it carries a responsibility, especially to area LGBTQ youth. Maier had a campaign presence at Cedar Rapids' LGBTQ bar, Basix, and was previously on the board of nonprofit CR Pride.
“There are young queer people in our community that are scared, that feel unloved, that feel unwanted,” Maier said. “It’s an important message that people don't care about my sexuality. It was a non-issue in the election … There's more the city can do to send a message to primarily our queer youth, but also their allies and their family and their friends that we are a welcoming, loving, open-minded community and we celebrate our differences.”
Olson, Overland re-elected
Council incumbent Scott Olson, 77, a semiretired real estate broker, was re-elected with 59 percent of the vote, besting opponent Dan Bahan, 33, a senior technician for Nordstrom, to represent District 4, which spans parts of western Cedar Rapids.
Scott Overland, 60, vice president of investments for Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust, was uncontested for re-election in District 2, which covers parts of eastern Cedar Rapids.
Council members serve four-year terms on the nine-member council and were paid $21,478 for the nonpartisan, part-time roles in fiscal year 2023.
The three at-large candidates largely aligned on issues ranging from housing and homelessness to public safety.
Poe, 71, a three-term council member and program manager of The District: Czech Village and New Bohemia, outraised the two other at-large candidates, collecting $19,129 from supporters, according to state reports.
Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, since stepping into office in 2022, has twice tapped Poe to serve as her mayor pro tem and backed Poe’s re-election bid. Poe also had the support of several other current and former council members, as well as local developers and labor unions.
Poe awaited results in her southeast Cedar Rapids home surrounded by family. She watched “Dancing with the Stars,” as she does every week, with a fire in her fireplace.
“I’m honored to serve this community, and I feel blessed,” Poe said Tuesday night. “I think Pat Loeffler was a wonderful council colleague. He was a good team player, and I’m very sad that he won’t be joining us on council, but really appreciate his commitment to the city of Cedar Rapids.”
Her friend Joyce Niebuhr, who said she and Poe met when they were 8 years old, said Poe “genuinely cares deeply about this community and to do the best job that she could possibly do for the citizens of Cedar Rapids.”
Loeffler, a retired carpenter who helps run Corner Store Apothecary & Wellness, didn’t seek campaign contributions for this election but raised $3,700, mostly with support from local labor unions.
He didn’t respond to a phone call Tuesday night after results came in, but at his watch party at Double Z Bar and Grill in northwest Cedar Rapids, surrounded by family, Loeffler had said, “There’s not a lot that I could have done differently.”
Melissa Gordon, 33, a school-based therapist at Kennedy High School who voted at the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library, said she supported Maier because she received texts from his campaign and supported his stance on LGBTQ rights within schools. Working in a school, she said, she’s aware of LGBTQ issues within schools because it’s been politicized.
Bruce DeSotel, 72, who voted at Salem United Methodist Church on the city's southwest side, said he voted for Poe and Maier, because “they were the only two I knew anything about.”
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
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