Oliver Weilein wins Iowa City Council special election

IOWA CITY — Oliver Weilein won the Iowa City Council special election Tuesday with 60 percent of the votes cast, according to unofficial results.

Weilein will fill the district C seat left vacant after council member Andrew Dunn announced his resignation effective Jan. 1, with three years left on the term.

Weilein, who works for Systems Unlimited, serving adults with intellectual disabilities, bested opponent Ross Nusser, a real estate agent, who received 39.7 percent of the vote.

Weilein received 4,141 votes, and Nusser received 2,736 of a total 6,902 votes. The remaining votes were write-ins.

About 16 percent of the 43,210 registered voters in Iowa City cast ballots in Tuesday’s special election.

Weilein told The Gazette he was seeking office to expand permanent supported housing in Iowa City. He said he’d like to explore ways to increase access to affordable housing that does not include developer incentives.

“I do think that there is a path forward to even set a goal in the city council that … we are going to effectively end homelessness by this time in Iowa City. That's how ambitious that I want to be,” Weilein said in January.

Only District C residents were eligible to vote in the primary, which Weilein won, while all Iowa City residents were eligible to vote Tuesday.

The special elections, the primary and general, are estimated to cost the city $100,000 according to City Attorney Eric Goers.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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