Voters oust three Linn County small-town mayors

Three small Linn County towns - Bertram, Center Point and Springville - have picked new mayors over the current incumbents, according to the final election results certified on Tuesday by the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

Current Springville Mayor Richard Heeren, however, has asked the Linn County Auditor's Office for a recount.

In the election results certified on Tuesday, Heeren had 137 votes to challenger Roger Shebetka's 142 votes.

Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said candidates can ask for a recount without cost if the vote difference is small. The recount will take place in the next several days, Miller said.

In Bertram, James Drahos easily defeated longtime Mayor Darwin Harmening, 48 to 18. In Center Point, Paula Freeman-Brown, a former Center Point mayor, easily defeated incumbent Mayor Mona Barz, 269 to 119.

Mount Vernon, bigger than Linn County's smallest towns, also turned out its mayor. Incumbent Scott Peterson was defeated by James Moore in a close vote, 553 to 519.

Springville's Shebetka and Bertram's Drahos on Tuesday both said they want to help promote growth in their communities, and before the election, Freeman-Brown said she supported a bigger focus on economic development in Center Point.

But as of Tuesday, it wasn't clear if Alburnett was getting a new mayor or not.

Incumbent Mayor David Bosenberg chose not to run, but local voters cast 85 votes for him via write-in vote anyway, which exceeded the 42 votes garnered by current City Council member Jonathan Lawrence, who sought the job when Bosenberg decided not to run.

Bosenberg has until Nov. 22 to determine if he will agree to the wishes of write-in voters and serve again. Otherwise, second-place finisher Lawrence will win the seat.

Alburnett, Center Point, Coggon and Walker each had more council seats on the Nov. 5 ballot than candidates seeking election to fill the posts.

Those getting the most write-in votes to win a council seat if they choose are Steve Gudenkauf in Alburnett, 92 write-in votes; John Steulke in Center Point, 167 write-in votes; Ray Archibald and Cheryl Schott in Coggon, 23 write-in votes each to fill two Coggon seats; and Amber Bonlander in Walker, 14 write-in votes.