Laurie Goodrich to be Coralville’s next Mayor, incumbent council members re-elected

CORALVILLE — Laurie Goodrich will be the new mayor of Coralville, securing 57.67 percent of the votes, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.

Goodrich has served on the council since 2014 and was facing off against Ryan Swenka, a software trainer, who had not previously held an elected office. Swenka received 41.8 percent of votes.

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Current mayor Meghann Foster — the first woman elected as mayor in the city’s history — did not seek re-election after two terms at the post and a prior term on council.

Incumbent council members Hai Hyunh and Mike Knudson were re-elected securing 22.79 percent and 19.93 percent of the votes, respectively.

Newcomer Katie Freeman, a self-employed furniture designer, was also elected to a seat on the council after receiving 15.08 percent of voters.

All vote totals remain unofficial until the countywide canvass of votes.

The Coralville City Council is made up of five at-large members and a non-voting mayor. Council members serve staggered four-year terms, and the mayor serves a two-year term.

The council had eight candidates filing for three seats. The next top two vote-getters were Jennifer Struthers, a retired attorney, with 12.87 percent of the votes and Deb Gill, a retired financial analyst, who received 10.58 percent of the votes.

Kathy Hotsenpiller, an optometrist, received 9.41 percent of votes and analytical chemist R. Marshall Pope received 5.58 percent of votes. Derick Schroeder, an area Realtor, received 3.58 percent of votes.

Coralville voters also approved a 1 percent local-option sales tax that will help fund a new recreation center for the city. More than 85 percent of voters were in favor of the tax, which required a simple majority to pass.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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