The upcoming November election may be an ‘off-year’ election when it comes to national topics, but locally, there are many positions up for grabs. And candidates interested in those positions must have their paperwork filed by next week, September 16.
According to Betty Ellis, Wright County Auditor, several city council and mayoral seats county-wide will be on the ballot on Tuesday, November 2. In Clarion, the mayor’s four-year term will be up after this year. Three council positions will also be on the ballot. These include the seats currently held by Dan Hennigar, Dave Maxheimer and Larry Harrah (who was recently appointed to finish out Jim Williams’ term).
Elsewhere around the area, Ellis noted that Dows and Goldfield will have their mayor positions and three council positions on the ballot. The town of Galt will have the mayor and 5 Council positions up for reelection.
For the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows School District, three board of education seats will be on the ballot as well. These include two district #2 positions (currently held by Beth Severson and Beth Jackson) and one district #3 position (currently held by Megan Ring).
Ellis explained that people interested in running for any of these seats need to fill out an affidavit of candidacy and nomination petition. These documents can be obtained at your local city hall or the school district office. Ellis said people can also stop by the auditor’s office at the courthouse if they have questions or visit the Iowa Secretary of State’s website for the forms and more information (https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/candidates/index.html).
Ellis added that candidates will need to obtain signatures to get on the ballot. For city candidates, 10 signatures are required on the nomination petition except for Galt which needs 5 signatures. Signatures for school candidates are figured on 1% of the registered voters on May 1. For CGD, this means a school board candidate needs to collect 36 signatures.
