Jill Weigel narrowly elected to Hiawatha City Council

Jill Weigel has narrowly prevailed in a three-way race for an at-large seat on the Hiawatha City Council, according to unofficial special election results.

The vacancy was created when Steve Dodson was elected mayor in November. Weigel, a forensic interviewer at the UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Child Protection Center, will fill the remainder of the four-year term, serving through 2025.

To secure a seat on the six-member council, Weigel defeated small business owner CJ Flynn by just three votes — receiving 145 votes, or 44.2 percent of ballots cast in Tuesday’s special election. Flynn received 43.3 percent of the vote, while Adam Kirkpatrick, a facilities manager at BAE Systems, trailed with 12.2 percent — or 40 votes.

Facing a slim margin of victory, Weigel said Wednesday she will feel better when results are canvassed, but said her opponents ran a dedicated race.

“I’m very grateful that I have this opportunity and that people had the confidence to vote for me,” Weigel said.

In the first several months on the council, Weigel said she looks forward to the opportunity to learn, grow and improve Hiawatha, but doesn’t have any particular changes she hopes to make.

“I really want to get my bearings and figure out how the council works together and look at the priorities and the agendas and figure out the best way that I can have an impact moving forward,” Weigel said.

If the results stand once votes are canvassed, Flynn said he does not plan to seek a recount. While Flynn won two of the three precincts, he said it seems Weigel got her neighborhood out to vote and that pushed her over the edge.

He said he enjoyed meeting the other candidates and was proud of his efforts to engage residents at apartments, mobile home parks and other venues.

“I am planning on running again in the next election,” Flynn said. “I’m also looking at different opportunities within the city to be involved on different boards.”

At a forum held last week by the League of Women Voters of Linn County at the Hiawatha Community Center, Weigel said she largely agreed with the city’s path on development — expanding businesses, recreational systems and dining options.

“I think unfortunately, politics have become about a politician or the person who wants to get things done the way they want to do them,” Weigel said. “And I don't think that's how it should be.”

Weigel said she is not for or against installing speed cameras in the city, but would want to review data to see where the problem areas are. She also favored the City Council maintaining support of the public library while allowing the library board to remain independent.

On expanding housing affordability for young families, she said “continuing to look at that in terms of who needs housing and what level of housing people are looking for” would be important, but didn’t mention any specific approaches.

She proposed having neighborhood points of contact “to think about things like welcoming new neighbors or having ongoing social events or even just having an awareness of who's in their neighborhood.”

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