Miller poised to win primary for Linn County Auditor

CEDAR RAPIDS - Incumbent Joel Miller appeared poised to handily win Tuesday's Democratic primary to retain his title as Linn County Auditor - despite the opposition of other county elected officials.

With almost all of the precincts reporting late Tuesday, Miller held about a 2-1 lead over challenger Joe Stutler.

Since there is currently no Republican candidate seeking the position, it is likely Miller will go on to win re-election in November.

'Frankly, I'm not sure how I feel” about the outcome, Miller said. 'This has been an unfortunate contest from the standpoint from the things that have been said about me.”

Miller's apparent victory comes despite the tension the auditor has had with the Board of Supervisors. The five-member board that oversees the county's $105 million budget has squared off with Miller over a variety of issues in the past.

'I'm disappointed that (the campaign) took an uncivil tone. I'm disappointed that other elected officials in the county chose to support my opponent, who was not nearly as qualified as I am,” he said.

Since Stutler announced his intention to challenge Miller, he said he has received support from four of five supervisors.

Miller said that when he thinks of 'the quality of candidate they vetted against me, I think it's clear that they were so desperate to try to beat me in this election.”

The night before the election, Stutler filed an ethic complaint against Miller, asserting that the auditor 'used county resources for campaign purposes,” a violation of Iowa Code, Stutler said in a news release. Stutler said he complained to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board that Miller has wrongly used a county copy machine and email account to scan and post a campaign document online.

Stutler said he planned to continue pursuing the issue with the board.

Miller, for his part, said he plans to continue working for county taxpayers but said that this will be his final term.

The Democrats both sought a four-year term as auditor, which serve a variety of roles for the county. These include posts such as clerk to the Board of Supervisors and county commissioner of elections. The auditor also oversees voter registration, accounts payable for all county departments and real estate transfers.

As auditor, Miller currently earns about $103,000.

He was re-elected in 2008 and 2012 after initially winning the seat in a 2007 special election.