2 mayor races still undecided: Alta, Truesdale write-ins mired in confusion

Hours after Tuesday's election, the outcome for three area races remains undetermined - including the mayor seats in both Alta and Truesdale, where write-in candidates could nip the lone announced candidates, and a tie vote for the final seat on the Truesdale City Council.

In Alta, incumbent Mayor Thomas French was apparently reelected with 136 votes, but there were 200 write-ins. Within those ballots, there are more than a dozen different versions and spellings of what may be intended to be the name of Richard "Curly" Morris. Buena Vista County Supervisors will be called on to determine whether all of those ballots can be counted for Morris, and if so, he would have enough to defeat French. The election will not officially be decided until supervisors meet.

Morris, a retiree who has served on the Alta planning and zoning board for years, said that had considered running for mayor, but had been diagnosed with possible cancer and put plans on hold. After his doctor gave him a clean bill of health last Friday, a flyer was quickly made up to announce his write-in candidacy. One thing that motivated him, he said, was that he feels city infastructure has not been given enough attention in recent years.

In Truesdale, James Walker was seemingly elected with 15 votes, but within the 19 write-in ballots cast, 16 were for Stan Buchholz, the current mayor who was appointed to fill a vacancy last January but did not run in this election. Supervisors will determine if all the ballots can be accepted and if Buchholz is willing to serve.

Also in Truesdale, Steve Bovero and Chris Barrickman each received 15 votes to tie for the final available council seat. County officials have not yet determined how to handle that outcome, but the winner could simply be drawn from a hat.

Less than one in five eligible voters turned out across Buena Vista County Tuesday as voters made decisions in mayor and city council elections across the county. A total of 1,718 ballots were cast, for a turnout of around 19.5 percent.

In Storm Lake, incumbent mayor Jon Kruse easily survived a challenge from Willard Christensen, 547 votes to 184. There were nine write-in votes.

In a three-way council race for seats to be vacated by Jim Treat and Julie Egland, Michael Porsch received 692 votes (48 percent) and Dan Anderson 591 (41 percent) to win positions. Jody Hocking had 156 votes (11 percent).

Elsewhere around the area:

Albert City - Carl Erickson Jr. was unopposed for mayor, elected with 79 votes. Dan Lullman with 82 votes and Dale Skog with 81 won council seats as the only candidates.

Alta - Thomas French was unopposed for mayor and received 136 votes, but there were 200 write-ins, so that outcome is not yet determined. Council seats were won by Pam Henderson with 255 votes and Brian Walsh with 245. They were the only candidates. A park board seat will be determined by write-in votes.

Lakeside - Incumbent mayor Gene Mandernach easily won another term, besting first-time candidate Jason Stoltzfus 70 votes to 20. Council seats went to Warren Wilson with 68 votes, Kathleen Pomrenke with 62 votes, and Dennis Fisher with 61. Randy Jacobson had 14 votes, and there were 41 write-ins, not enough to sway the outcome.

Linn Grove - Ronda Ellis was reelected mayor with 34 votes. Elected to council were Diane Lindahl and Allan Wahlquist with 37 votes, John C. Nelson with 35 and Marlin Weier with 34. There were 43 write-ins, and one seat remaining to fill from those names. The highest write-in vote-getter was Stewart Jessen with 24, although there is some confusion with voters spelling the name differently. Supervisors will clarify the situation when they canvass the vote.

Marathon - Dana Snow was elected mayor with all 34 votes cast for Snow. Teresa Snyder with 23 votes and Kathy Schulz with 18 won council seats. Tony Rydstrom fell two votes short with 16, and Dustin Klatt had 10. There are no write-ins.

Newell - City government veteran Dick Christensen became mayor again, winning all 104 votes. Council seats go to Nathan Kier with 93 votes, Dana Davis with 83, and Pamela Wilken with 79. Shirley Henrich had 73 votes and Ethel Crowley 20. There are no write-ins. There were no candidates or write-in ballots for two park board jobs, which will likely be filled by appointement.

Rembrandt - All three city council candidtaes win seats with Doyle Engebretson winning 23 votes, Neal Sennert 21 and Richard King 20.

Sioux Rapids - Incumbent Andrew Hasley won a spirited race for mayor with 85 votes to 80 for Jim Wise, who has been a council member and fire chief. William Johnson was a runaway winner for city council with 128 votes, while Paige Patten piled up 99 ballots for he other available seat. Other candidates were Allan Sorenson with 43 votes, Steve Lonning with 39, William Ball with 25.

Truesdale - Aside from a mayoral controversy, the most crowded race in the area was for Truesdale City Council, with eight declared candidates fighting it out for five seats, each receiving beween 8-17 percent of the vote. Elected were James Weiland with 22 votes, Barry Meyer with 18, Tina Shannon and Linda Walker with 17 each. For the final seat, Steve Bovero and Chris Barrickman each had 15 votes, with that outcome still to be determined. However, there are 26 write-in votes yet to be revealed, which could potentially shake up the outcome. Other candidates were Donald Brazel with 13 votes and Needra Ripke with 12.

As usual, there was some humor expressed amid the balloting drama. Among the write-in candidates in Alta, it seems, was Mickey Mouse.