No runoff in C.R. council race

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County officials confirmed Thursday that Scott Olson garnered enough votes in Tuesday's election to win the west-side District 4 seat on the City Council outright, without triggering a runoff.

An official vote canvass by the Board of Supervisors found that Olson's victory came with 13 votes above 50 percent of the 3,565 votes cast to avoid a Dec. 4 runoff in the four-candidate race. It also confirmed the election victories of incumbent Monica Vernon in the east-side District 2 contest and Ann Poe in the at-large race.

The canvass reviewed votes and provisional ballots cast at the polls on Tuesday plus absentee ballots. None of the 10 candidates in the three Cedar Rapids council races attended the count.

In District 4, the official total has Olson with 1,796 votes, Cloyd “Robby” Robinson with 701, Steve Rhodes with 671, Jean Leaf with 360 and write-ins at 37. Olson's total represents 50.38 of the District 4 votes while second-place finisher Robinson had 19.66 percent of the vote.

Robinson said he will not seek a recount of votes, though he or any other registered voter in District 4 has until Monday to do so.

However, “There are no anomalies that I'm aware of that would change the result,” Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said.

In the at-large race, Poe's final total is 9,440 votes while Carl Cortez had 3,669 votes and Justin Wasson had 3,637, with 227 write-in votes. Poe's votes represent 55.6 percent of the total vote.

In the east-side District 2, Vernon won 2,966 votes, second-place finisher Taylor Nelson had 1,281 and Paul T. Larson got 342, with write-in votes numbering 38. Vernon's winning total represents 64.1 percent of the vote and Nelson's is 27.7 percent.

Vernon won a majority of votes in all 10 precincts in District 2 plus the absentee ballot count. Vernon's smallest majority, 50.6 percent, came from residents who vote at Noelridge Christian Church, 7111 C Ave. NE. Her largest majority, 81.3 percent, came from those who vote at Bethany Lutheran Church, 2202 Forest Dr. SE.

In District 4, Olson won the most votes in all nine precincts plus the absentee count, though he won only two of the nine precincts and the absentee vote by more than 50 percent. His 62.2 percent majority from residents who voted at Coolidge Elementary School, 6225 First Ave. SW, his 61.15 percent majority from voters at Harrison Elementary School, 1310 11th St. NW, and his 59 percent majority in absentee votes got him to 50.38 percent of the total votes the district.

In the at-large race, Poe won the most votes in 46 of 47 precincts and the absentee vote. Her only precinct loss came from residents who vote at Hope Lutheran Church, 2736 Bowling St. SW. Cortez won 41 percent of the vote there to Poe's 38 percent.